Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2023-53629

High · 7.8

CVSS

7.8

EPSS

0.5%

Published

Oct 7, 2025

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Monitor only SSVC: Track

A bug in the Linux kernel's distributed locking code could let someone already on the machine crash it or possibly take over more control.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Low
Impact
Full Compromise
Component
OS kernel
Class
Use After Free
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Use-after-free vulnerability in dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle during DLM message processing in softirq context, enabling kernel memory corruption.

Why it matters to the business

Local attackers on affected Linux systems can trigger kernel crashes or potential privilege escalation in clustered environments relying on DLM for distributed locking, with low observed exploitation risk.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access invokes DLM lock operations such as convert_lock or dlm_lock that allocate and later free mhandle structures, then triggers concurrent access in midcomms commit leading to the use-after-free.

How to fix it

Apply the kernel patch fixing the issue in commit a3b0e9ac3c2447008db942d51f593841d8329e99; rebuild and deploy updated kernels across all affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the running kernel contains commit a3b0e9ac3c2447008db942d51f593841d8329e99; reproduce the lock_torture workload and confirm absence of KASAN use-after-free reports for dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain local user access on a system using the Linux DLM subsystem
  2. Execute code paths that call dlm_lock or convert_lock
  3. Trigger message creation and commit in softirq context via send_common
  4. Cause read-after-free in dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle

How to detect it

Inspect kernel logs for KASAN reports referencing dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle or use-after-free during DLM operations; review audit logs for unexpected local DLM lock activity.

  • dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle
  • KASAN: use-after-free in dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates containing commit a3b0e9ac3c2447008db942d51f593841d8329e99 on all DLM-enabled systems
  • Monitor EPSS trend and kernel security mailing lists for related issues
  • Restrict untrusted local access where possible until patched

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: dlm: fix use after free in midcomms commit While working on processing dlm message in softirq context I experienced the following KASAN use-after-free warning: [ 151.760477] ================================================================== [ 151.761803] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle+0x19d/0x4b0 [ 151.763414] Read of size 4 at addr ffff88811a980c60 by task lock_torture/1347 [ 151.765284] CPU: 7 PID: 1347 Comm: lock_torture Not tainted 6.1.0-rc4+ #2828 [ 151.766778] Hardware name: Red Hat KVM/RHEL-AV, BIOS 1.16.0-3.module+el8.7.0+16134+e5908aa2 04/01/2014 [ 151.768726] Call Trace: [ 151.769277] <TASK> [ 151.769748] dump_stack_lvl+0x5b/0x86 [ 151.770556] print_report+0x180/0x4c8 [ 151.771378] ? kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x7c/0x1e0 [ 151.772241] ? dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle+0x19d/0x4b0 [ 151.773069] kasan_report+0x93/0x1a0 [ 151.773668] ? dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle+0x19d/0x4b0 [ 151.774514] __asan_load4+0x7e/0xa0 [ 151.775089] dlm_midcomms_commit_mhandle+0x19d/0x4b0 [ 151.775890] ? create_message.isra.29.constprop.64+0x57/0xc0 [ 151.776770] send_common+0x19f/0x1b0 [ 151.777342] ? remove_from_waiters+0x60/0x60 [ 151.778017] ? lock_downgrade+0x410/0x410 [ 151.778648] ? __this_cpu_preempt_check+0x13/0x20 [ 151.779421] ? rcu_lockdep_current_cpu_online+0x88/0xc0 [ 151.780292] _convert_lock+0x46/0x150 [ 151.780893] convert_lock+0x7b/0xc0 [ 151.781459] dlm_lock+0x3ac/0x580 [ 151.781993] ? 0xffffffffc0540000 [ 151.782522] ? torture_stop+0x120/0x120 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.783379] ? dlm_scan_rsbs+0xa70/0xa70 [ 151.784003] ? preempt_count_sub+0xd6/0x130 [ 151.784661] ? is_module_address+0x47/0x70 [ 151.785309] ? torture_stop+0x120/0x120 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.786166] ? 0xffffffffc0540000 [ 151.786693] ? lockdep_init_map_type+0xc3/0x360 [ 151.787414] ? 0xffffffffc0540000 [ 151.787947] torture_dlm_lock_sync.isra.3+0xe9/0x150 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.789004] ? torture_stop+0x120/0x120 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.789858] ? 0xffffffffc0540000 [ 151.790392] ? lock_torture_cleanup+0x20/0x20 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.791347] ? delay_tsc+0x94/0xc0 [ 151.791898] torture_ex_iter+0xc3/0xea [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.792735] ? torture_start+0x30/0x30 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.793606] lock_torture+0x177/0x270 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.794448] ? torture_dlm_lock_sync.isra.3+0x150/0x150 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.795539] ? lock_torture_stats+0x80/0x80 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.796476] ? do_raw_spin_lock+0x11e/0x1e0 [ 151.797152] ? mark_held_locks+0x34/0xb0 [ 151.797784] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x30/0x70 [ 151.798581] ? __kthread_parkme+0x79/0x110 [ 151.799246] ? trace_preempt_on+0x2a/0xf0 [ 151.799902] ? __kthread_parkme+0x79/0x110 [ 151.800579] ? preempt_count_sub+0xd6/0x130 [ 151.801271] ? __kasan_check_read+0x11/0x20 [ 151.801963] ? __kthread_parkme+0xec/0x110 [ 151.802630] ? lock_torture_stats+0x80/0x80 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.803569] kthread+0x192/0x1d0 [ 151.804104] ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x30/0x30 [ 151.804881] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [ 151.805480] </TASK> [ 151.806111] Allocated by task 1347: [ 151.806681] kasan_save_stack+0x26/0x50 [ 151.807308] kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 [ 151.807920] kasan_save_alloc_info+0x1e/0x30 [ 151.808609] __kasan_slab_alloc+0x63/0x80 [ 151.809263] kmem_cache_alloc+0x1ad/0x830 [ 151.809916] dlm_allocate_mhandle+0x17/0x20 [ 151.810590] dlm_midcomms_get_mhandle+0x96/0x260 [ 151.811344] _create_message+0x95/0x180 [ 151.811994] create_message.isra.29.constprop.64+0x57/0xc0 [ 151.812880] send_common+0x129/0x1b0 [ 151.813467] _convert_lock+0x46/0x150 [ 151.814074] convert_lock+0x7b/0xc0 [ 151.814648] dlm_lock+0x3ac/0x580 [ 151.815199] torture_dlm_lock_sync.isra.3+0xe9/0x150 [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.816258] torture_ex_iter+0xc3/0xea [dlm_locktorture] [ 151.817129] lock_t ---truncated---

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Linux Kernel 5.14.0 6.1.20

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