CVE-2023-53624 net/sched: sch_fq: fix integer overflow of "credit"
An integer overflow in the Linux kernel's FQ scheduler can cause a CPU soft-lockup if the initial quantum is configured excessively high.
- 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-2023-53624?
CVE-2023-53624 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 7 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:
net/sched: sch_fq: fix integer overflow of "credit"
if sch_fq is configured with "initial quantum" having values greater than INT_MAX, the first assignment of "credit" does signed integer overflow to a very negative value. In this situation, the syzkaller script provided by Cristoph triggers the CPU soft-lockup warning even with few sockets. It's not an infinite loop, but "credit" wasn't probably meant to be minus 2Gb for each new flow. Capping "initial quantum" to INT_MAX proved to fix the issue.
v2: validation of "initial quantum" is done in fq_policy, instead of open coding in fq_change() _ suggested by Jakub Kicinski
Weakness: CWE-190
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53624?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53624?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53624 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53624 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53624, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53624, GHSA-xhfr-4q2x-5mx4, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53624.