CVE-2023-53815

  • Published: 2025-12-09T01:16:53.717

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

posix-timers: Prevent RT livelock in itimer_delete()

itimer_delete() has a retry loop when the timer is concurrently expired. On
non-RT kernels this just spin-waits until the timer callback has completed,
except for posix CPU timers which have HAVE_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK
enabled.

In that case and on RT kernels the existing task could live lock when
preempting the task which does the timer delivery.

Replace spin_unlock() with an invocation of timer_wait_running() to handle
it the same way as the other retry loops in the posix timer code.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

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Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2023-53815

CVE-2023-53815 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-timers: Prevent RT livelock in itimer_delete() itimer_delete() has a retry loop when the timer is concurrently expired. On non-RT kernels this just spin-waits until the timer callback has completed, except for posix CPU timers which have HAVE_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK enabled. In that case and on RT kernels […]

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

Dec 09, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 09, 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.