CVE-2023-53728

  • Published: 2025-10-22T14:15:48.083
  • Last modified: 1761167568

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

posix-timers: Ensure timer ID search-loop limit is valid

posix_timer_add() tries to allocate a posix timer ID by starting from the
cached ID which was stored by the last successful allocation.

This is done in a loop searching the ID space for a free slot one by
one. The loop has to terminate when the search wrapped around to the
starting point.

But that’s racy vs. establishing the starting point. That is read out
lockless, which leads to the following problem:

CPU0 CPU1
posix_timer_add()
start = sig->posix_timer_id;
lock(hash_lock);
… posix_timer_add()
if (++sig->posix_timer_id posix_timer_id;
sig->posix_timer_id = 0;

So CPU1 can observe a negative start value, i.e. -1, and the loop break
never happens because the condition can never be true:

if (sig->posix_timer_id == start)
break;

While this is unlikely to ever turn into an endless loop as the ID space is
huge (INT_MAX), the racy read of the start value caught the attention of
KCSAN and Dmitry unearthed that incorrectness.

Rewrite it so that all id operations are under the hash lock.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

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How to fix CVE-2023-53728

CVE-2023-53728 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-timers: Ensure timer ID search-loop limit is valid posix_timer_add() tries to allocate a posix timer ID by starting from the cached ID which was stored by the last successful allocation. This is done in a loop searching the ID space for a free slot one […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Oct 22, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Jan 01, 1970
Last Modified

CVE details were updated

Oct 28, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.