Review reviewHigh

CVE-2023-53860

Linux

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm: don't attempt to queue IO under RCU protection dm looks up the table for IO based on the request type, with an assumption that if the request is marked REQ_NOWAIT, it's fine to attempt to submit that IO while under RCU read lock protection. This is not OK, as REQ_NOWAIT just means that we should not be sleeping waiting on other IO, it does not mean that we can't potentially schedule. A simple test case demonstrates this quite nicely: int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { struct iovec iov; int fd; fd = open("/dev/dm-0", O_R...

CVSS
7.8
EPSS
0.16%
6.05% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2025.12.10
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.16%
Technical severityCVSS 7.8

Vulnerability overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm: don't attempt to queue IO under RCU protection dm looks up the table for IO based on the request type, with an assumption that if the request is marked REQ_NOWAIT, it's fine to attempt to submit that IO while under RCU read lock protection. This is not OK, as REQ_NOWAIT just means that we should not be sleeping waiting on other IO, it does not mean that we can't potentially schedule. A simple test case demonstrates this quite nicely: int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { struct iovec iov; int fd; fd = open("/dev/dm-0", O_R...

Affected product and versions

Product
Linux
Affected versions
>= 563a225c9fd207326c2a2af9d59b4097cb31ce70 < d7b2abd87d1fcdb47811f90090a363e7ca15cb14, >= 563a225c9fd207326c2a2af9d59b4097cb31ce70 < 699775e9338adcd4eaedea000d32c60250c3114d, >= 563a225c9fd207326c2a2af9d59b4097cb31ce70 < a9ce385344f916cd1c36a33905e564f5581beae9, >= 5.19
Fixed versions
No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that Linux and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
Not available
CVE-2023-53860 — Linux | SECUFOCUS NOW