CVE-2023-52941 can: isotp: split tx timer into transmission and timeout
A flaw in the Linux kernel CAN ISO-TP implementation could cause a system panic if panic_on_warn is enabled, leading to denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-52941?
CVE-2023-52941 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Mar 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
can: isotp: split tx timer into transmission and timeout
The timer for the transmission of isotp PDUs formerly had two functions: 1. send two consecutive frames with a given time gap 2. monitor the timeouts for flow control frames and the echo frames
This led to larger txstate checks and potentially to a problem discovered by syzbot which enabled the panic_on_warn feature while testing.
The former 'txtimer' function is split into 'txfrtimer' and 'txtimer' to handle the two above functionalities with separate timer callbacks.
The two simplified timers now run in one-shot mode and make the state transitions (especially with isotp_rcv_echo) better understandable.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52941?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-52941?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-52941 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52941 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-52941, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52941, GHSA-mh69-q9mq-74wg, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52941.