# CVE-2023-53866: ASoC: soc-compress: Reposition and add pcm_mutex

> A missing mutex lock in the Linux kernel ASoC compress driver causes a kernel panic when panic_on_warn is enabled and a compress stream is started.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53866, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53866, GHSA-2r2h-c3j9-j3mg, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53866

## What is CVE-2023-53866?

CVE-2023-53866 is a high-severity 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:

ASoC: soc-compress: Reposition and add pcm_mutex

If panic_on_warn is set and compress stream(DPCM) is started,
then kernel panic occurred because card->pcm_mutex isn't held appropriately.
In the following functions, warning were issued at this line
"snd_soc_dpcm_mutex_assert_held".

static int dpcm_be_connect(struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime *fe,
		struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime *be, int stream)
{
	...
	snd_soc_dpcm_mutex_assert_held(fe);
	...
}

void dpcm_be_disconnect(struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime *fe, int stream)
{
	...
	snd_soc_dpcm_mutex_assert_held(fe);
	...
}

void snd_soc_runtime_action(struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime *rtd,
			    int stream, int action)
{
	...
	snd_soc_dpcm_mutex_assert_held(rtd);
	...
}

int dpcm_dapm_stream_event(struct snd_soc_pcm_runtime *fe, int dir,
	int event)
{
	...
	snd_soc_dpcm_mutex_assert_held(fe);
	...
}

These functions are called by soc_compr_set_params_fe, soc_compr_open_fe
and soc_compr_free_fe
without pcm_mutex locking. And this is call stack.

[  414.527841][ T2179] pc : dpcm_process_paths+0x5a4/0x750
[  414.527848][ T2179] lr : dpcm_process_paths+0x37c/0x750
[  414.527945][ T2179] Call trace:
[  414.527949][ T2179]  dpcm_process_paths+0x5a4/0x750
[  414.527955][ T2179]  soc_compr_open_fe+0xb0/0x2cc
[  414.527972][ T2179]  snd_compr_open+0x180/0x248
[  414.527981][ T2179]  snd_open+0x15c/0x194
[  414.528003][ T2179]  chrdev_open+0x1b0/0x220
[  414.528023][ T2179]  do_dentry_open+0x30c/0x594
[  414.528045][ T2179]  vfs_open+0x34/0x44
[  414.528053][ T2179]  path_openat+0x914/0xb08
[  414.528062][ T2179]  do_filp_open+0xc0/0x170
[  414.528068][ T2179]  do_sys_openat2+0x94/0x18c
[  414.528076][ T2179]  __arm64_sys_openat+0x78/0xa4
[  414.528084][ T2179]  invoke_syscall+0x48/0x10c
[  414.528094][ T2179]  el0_svc_common+0xbc/0x104
[  414.528099][ T2179]  do_el0_svc+0x34/0xd8
[  414.528103][ T2179]  el0_svc+0x34/0xc4
[  414.528125][ T2179]  el0t_64_sync_handler+0x8c/0xfc
[  414.528133][ T2179]  el0t_64_sync+0x1a0/0x1a4
[  414.528142][ T2179] Kernel panic - not syncing: panic_on_warn set ...

So, I reposition and add pcm_mutex to resolve lockdep error.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53866?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53866?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53866 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53866 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53866 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53866 is a high-severity 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-2023-53866 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-2023-53866/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53866/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53866
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53866
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53866

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53866/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.