CVE-2023-53609

5.5 MEDIUM
Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SCSI subsystem could cause a kernel panic when handling failed SCSI command dispatch. This affects systems using SCSI storage devices with the vulnerable kernel versions. Attackers could potentially crash the system, causing denial of service.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Linux kernel
Versions: Specific kernel versions containing commit cfee29ffb45b1c9798011b19d454637d1b0fe87d but before the revert commit 35fe6fa57b994e7da222893adf0bb748d6055e73
Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Only affects systems using SCSI storage devices. The vulnerability was introduced by a specific commit and later reverted.

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data loss or corruption if storage operations are interrupted.

🟠

Likely Case

System crash or instability when SCSI operations fail under specific timing conditions, resulting in denial of service.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper kernel hardening and isolation of SCSI devices from untrusted users.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This vulnerability requires local access or ability to trigger SCSI operations, typically not directly exploitable over network.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes with SCSI device access could potentially trigger the condition, causing system instability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: HIGH - Requires precise timing to trigger the race condition and access to SCSI operations.

Exploitation requires local access and ability to trigger SCSI command failures with specific timing.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commit 35fe6fa57b994e7da222893adf0bb748d6055e73 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/35fe6fa57b994e7da222893adf0bb748d6055e73

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the revert commit. 2. Check distribution-specific security advisories. 3. Reboot system after kernel update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict SCSI device access

linux

Limit access to SCSI devices to trusted users only to reduce attack surface

chmod 600 /dev/sd*
setfacl -m u:trusteduser:rw /dev/sd*

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Restrict SCSI device access to minimal required users and processes
  • Monitor system logs for kernel panic events and SCSI errors

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and if it contains the vulnerable commit: uname -r && grep -q 'cfee29ffb45b1c9798011b19d454637d1b0fe87d' /proc/kallsyms

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel contains the revert commit: grep -q '35fe6fa57b994e7da222893adf0bb748d6055e73' /proc/kallsyms

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Kernel panic messages in /var/log/kern.log or dmesg
  • SCSI error messages
  • System crash/reboot events

Network Indicators:

  • None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

source="kern.log" AND "kernel panic" OR "SCSI error"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-53609
CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Published: October 4, 2025
Last Updated: February 5, 2026

🤖 AI-assisted analysis, reviewed for accuracy

🔗 References

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