CVE-2023-53022
Linux Kernel 5.13 – 5.15.91
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-53022 is a medium-severity Improper Locking (CWE-667) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked at the 3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-59698
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: enetc: avoid deadlock in enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp() This lockdep splat says it better than I could: ================================ WARNING: inconsistent lock state 6.2.0-rc2-07010-ga9b9500ffaac-dirty #967 Not tainted -------------------------------- inconsistent {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} -> {SOFTIRQ-ON-W} usage.…
more
kworker/1:3/179 [HC0[0]:SC0[0]:HE1:SE1] takes: ffff3ec4036ce098 (_xmit_ETHER#2){+.?.}-{3:3}, at: netif_freeze_queues+0x5c/0xc0 {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} state was registered at: _raw_spin_lock+0x5c/0xc0 sch_direct_xmit+0x148/0x37c __dev_queue_xmit+0x528/0x111c ip6_finish_output2+0x5ec/0xb7c ip6_finish_output+0x240/0x3f0 ip6_output+0x78/0x360 ndisc_send_skb+0x33c/0x85c ndisc_send_rs+0x54/0x12c addrconf_rs_timer+0x154/0x260 call_timer_fn+0xb8/0x3a0 __run_timers.part.0+0x214/0x26c run_timer_softirq+0x3c/0x74 __do_softirq+0x14c/0x5d8 ____do_softirq+0x10/0x20 call_on_irq_stack+0x2c/0x5c do_softirq_own_stack+0x1c/0x30 __irq_exit_rcu+0x168/0x1a0 irq_exit_rcu+0x10/0x40 el1_interrupt+0x38/0x64 irq event stamp: 7825 hardirqs last enabled at (7825): [<ffffdf1f7200cae4>] exit_to_kernel_mode+0x34/0x130 hardirqs last disabled at (7823): [<ffffdf1f708105f0>] __do_softirq+0x550/0x5d8 softirqs last enabled at (7824): [<ffffdf1f7081050c>] __do_softirq+0x46c/0x5d8 softirqs last disabled at (7811): [<ffffdf1f708166e0>] ____do_softirq+0x10/0x20 other info that might help us debug this: Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 ---- lock(_xmit_ETHER#2); <Interrupt> lock(_xmit_ETHER#2); *** DEADLOCK *** 3 locks held by kworker/1:3/179: #0: ffff3ec400004748 ((wq_completion)events){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1f4/0x6c0 #1: ffff80000a0bbdc8 ((work_completion)(&priv->tx_onestep_tstamp)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1f4/0x6c0 #2: ffff3ec4036cd438 (&dev->tx_global_lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: netif_tx_lock+0x1c/0x34 Workqueue: events enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp Call trace: print_usage_bug.part.0+0x208/0x22c mark_lock+0x7f0/0x8b0 __lock_acquire+0x7c4/0x1ce0 lock_acquire.part.0+0xe0/0x220 lock_acquire+0x68/0x84 _raw_spin_lock+0x5c/0xc0 netif_freeze_queues+0x5c/0xc0 netif_tx_lock+0x24/0x34 enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp+0x20/0x100 process_one_work+0x28c/0x6c0 worker_thread+0x74/0x450 kthread+0x118/0x11c but I'll say it anyway: the enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp() work item runs in process context, therefore with softirqs enabled (i.o.w., it can be interrupted by a softirq). If we hold the netif_tx_lock() when there is an interrupt, and the NET_TX softirq then gets scheduled, this will take the netif_tx_lock() a second time and deadlock the kernel. To solve this, use netif_tx_lock_bh(), which blocks softirqs from running.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure development lifecycle includes concurrency and locking requirements that reduce improper locking defects.
A.8.26 only requires that security requirements (including resilience against attacks such as buffer overflows or SQL injection) be identified and specified during development or acquisition; it does not itself enforce, implement, or prevent improper locking from being present or exploitable in the resulting application.
Secure architecture principles address thread-safety and resource synchronization.
Secure coding standards directly prohibit missing or incorrect lock usage.
Security testing can detect race conditions and locking errors before release.
Change management may catch locking issues introduced by modifications but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-667, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.