{"cve":"CVE-2023-53522","nvd":{"published":"2025-10-01T12:15:56.617","modified":"2026-06-17T06:45:31.580","status":"Analyzed","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ncgroup,freezer: hold cpu_hotplug_lock before freezer_mutex\n\nsyzbot is reporting circular locking dependency between cpu_hotplug_lock\nand freezer_mutex, for commit f5d39b020809 (\"freezer,sched: Rewrite core\nfreezer logic\") replaced atomic_inc() in freezer_apply_state() with\nstatic_branch_inc() which holds cpu_hotplug_lock.\n\ncpu_hotplug_lock => cgroup_threadgroup_rwsem => freezer_mutex\n\n  cgroup_file_write() {\n    cgroup_procs_write() {\n      __cgroup_procs_write() {\n        cgroup_procs_write_start() {\n          cgroup_attach_lock() {\n            cpus_read_lock() {\n              percpu_down_read(&cpu_hotplug_lock);\n            }\n            percpu_down_write(&cgroup_threadgroup_rwsem);\n          }\n        }\n        cgroup_attach_task() {\n          cgroup_migrate() {\n            cgroup_migrate_execute() {\n              freezer_attach() {\n                mutex_lock(&freezer_mutex);\n                (...snipped...)\n              }\n            }\n          }\n        }\n        (...snipped...)\n      }\n    }\n  }\n\nfreezer_mutex => cpu_hotplug_lock\n\n  cgroup_file_write() {\n    freezer_write() {\n      freezer_change_state() {\n        mutex_lock(&freezer_mutex);\n        freezer_apply_state() {\n          static_branch_inc(&freezer_active) {\n            static_key_slow_inc() {\n              cpus_read_lock();\n              static_key_slow_inc_cpuslocked();\n              cpus_read_unlock();\n            }\n          }\n        }\n        mutex_unlock(&freezer_mutex);\n      }\n    }\n  }\n\nSwap locking order by moving cpus_read_lock() in freezer_apply_state()\nto before mutex_lock(&freezer_mutex) in freezer_change_state().","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","score":7.8},"cwes":[],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34fbb7b45bae20b551dda24337c7761ca13ce69d","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3756171b97c307d9df8b8ded1d883eec30172085","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57dcd64c7e036299ef526b400a8d12b8a2352f26"],"products":["linux:linux_kernel"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T22:11:26.888974865+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2023-53522","score":0.00154,"percentile":0.04538,"date":"2026-10-31"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}