CVE-2023-53508 ublk: fail to start device if queue setup is interrupted
A local attacker can trigger a kernel oops and denial of service by interrupting the ublk device startup process before queue setup completes.
- 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-2023-53508?
CVE-2023-53508 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:
ublk: fail to start device if queue setup is interrupted
In ublk_ctrl_start_dev(), if wait_for_completion_interruptible() is interrupted by signal, queues aren't setup successfully yet, so we have to fail UBLK_CMD_START_DEV, otherwise kernel oops can be triggered.
Reported by German when working on qemu-storage-deamon which requires single thread ublk daemon.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53508?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53508?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53508 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53508 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53508, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53508, GHSA-f7fj-8w72-h36h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53508.