Vulnerability Database

374,345

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2023-53445 — linux / linux_kernel

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

net: qrtr: Fix a refcount bug in qrtr_recvmsg()

Syzbot reported a bug as following:

refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free. ... RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x17c/0x1f0 lib/refcount.c:25 ... Call Trace: <TASK> __refcount_add include/linux/refcount.h:199 [inline] __refcount_inc include/linux/refcount.h:250 [inline] refcount_inc include/linux/refcount.h:267 [inline] kref_get include/linux/kref.h:45 [inline] qrtr_node_acquire net/qrtr/af_qrtr.c:202 [inline] qrtr_node_lookup net/qrtr/af_qrtr.c:398 [inline] qrtr_send_resume_tx net/qrtr/af_qrtr.c:1003 [inline] qrtr_recvmsg+0x85f/0x990 net/qrtr/af_qrtr.c:1070 sock_recvmsg_nosec net/socket.c:1017 [inline] sock_recvmsg+0xe2/0x160 net/socket.c:1038 qrtr_ns_worker+0x170/0x1700 net/qrtr/ns.c:688 process_one_work+0x991/0x15c0 kernel/workqueue.c:2390 worker_thread+0x669/0x1090 kernel/workqueue.c:2537

It occurs in the concurrent scenario of qrtr_recvmsg() and qrtr_endpoint_unregister() as following:

cpu0 cpu1

qrtr_recvmsg qrtr_endpoint_unregister qrtr_send_resume_tx qrtr_node_release qrtr_node_lookup mutex_lock(&qrtr_node_lock) spin_lock_irqsave(&qrtr_nodes_lock, ) refcount_dec_and_test(&node->ref) [node->ref == 0] radix_tree_lookup [node != NULL] __qrtr_node_release qrtr_node_acquire spin_lock_irqsave(&qrtr_nodes_lock, ) kref_get(&node->ref) [WARNING] ... mutex_unlock(&qrtr_node_lock)

Use qrtr_node_lock to protect qrtr_node_lookup() implementation, this is actually improving the protection of node reference.

  • Published: Sep 18, 2025
  • Updated: Dec 14, 2025
  • CVE: CVE-2023-53445
  • Severity: Medium
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 7.8
  • AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

No CWE or OWASP classifications available.

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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