CVE-2023-53216
- Published: 2025-09-15T15:15:48.273
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
arm64: efi: Make efi_rt_lock a raw_spinlock
Running a rt-kernel base on 6.2.0-rc3-rt1 on an Ampere Altra outputs
the following:
BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:46
in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 9, name: kworker/u320:0
preempt_count: 2, expected: 0
RCU nest depth: 0, expected: 0
3 locks held by kworker/u320:0/9:
#0: ffff3fff8c27d128 ((wq_completion)efi_rts_wq){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work (./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:41)
#1: ffff80000861bdd0 ((work_completion)(&efi_rts_work.work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work (./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:41)
#2: ffffdf7e1ed3e460 (efi_rt_lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: efi_call_rts (drivers/firmware/efi/runtime-wrappers.c:101)
Preemption disabled at:
efi_virtmap_load (./arch/arm64/include/asm/mmu_context.h:248)
CPU: 0 PID: 9 Comm: kworker/u320:0 Tainted: G W 6.2.0-rc3-rt1
Hardware name: WIWYNN Mt.Jade Server System B81.03001.0005/Mt.Jade Motherboard, BIOS 1.08.20220218 (SCP: 1.08.20220218) 2022/02/18
Workqueue: efi_rts_wq efi_call_rts
Call trace:
dump_backtrace (arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:158)
show_stack (arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:165)
dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:107 (discriminator 4))
dump_stack (lib/dump_stack.c:114)
__might_resched (kernel/sched/core.c:10134)
rt_spin_lock (kernel/locking/rtmutex.c:1769 (discriminator 4))
efi_call_rts (drivers/firmware/efi/runtime-wrappers.c:101)
[…]
This seems to come from commit ff7a167961d1 (“arm64: efi: Execute
runtime services from a dedicated stack”) which adds a spinlock. This
spinlock is taken through:
efi_call_rts()
-efi_call_virt()
-efi_call_virt_pointer()
-arch_efi_call_virt_setup()
Make ‘efi_rt_lock’ a raw_spinlock to avoid being preempted.
[ardb: The EFI runtime services are called with a different set of
translation tables, and are permitted to use the SIMD registers.
The context switch code preserves/restores neither, and so EFI
calls must be made with preemption disabled, rather than only
disabling migration.]
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How to fix CVE-2023-53216
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: efi: Make efi_rt_lock a raw_spinlock Running a rt-kernel base on 6.2.0-rc3-rt1 on an Ampere Altra outputs the following: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:46 in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 9, name: kworker/u320:0 preempt_count: 2, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
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No vendor/product data available.