# CVE-2023-54211: tracing: Fix warning in trace_buffered_event_disable()

> A local attacker with high privileges can trigger a kernel warning and potential instability by manipulating ftrace event filters, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54211, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54211, GHSA-m579-rv75-wvgq, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54211

## What is CVE-2023-54211?

CVE-2023-54211 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 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:

tracing: Fix warning in trace_buffered_event_disable()

Warning happened in trace_buffered_event_disable() at
  WARN_ON_ONCE(!trace_buffered_event_ref)

  Call Trace:
   ? __warn+0xa5/0x1b0
   ? trace_buffered_event_disable+0x189/0x1b0
   __ftrace_event_enable_disable+0x19e/0x3e0
   free_probe_data+0x3b/0xa0
   unregister_ftrace_function_probe_func+0x6b8/0x800
   event_enable_func+0x2f0/0x3d0
   ftrace_process_regex.isra.0+0x12d/0x1b0
   ftrace_filter_write+0xe6/0x140
   vfs_write+0x1c9/0x6f0
   [...]

The cause of the warning is in __ftrace_event_enable_disable(),
trace_buffered_event_enable() was called once while
trace_buffered_event_disable() was called twice.
Reproduction script show as below, for analysis, see the comments:
 ```
 #!/bin/bash

 cd /sys/kernel/tracing/

 # 1. Register a 'disable_event' command, then:
 #    1) SOFT_DISABLED_BIT was set;
 #    2) trace_buffered_event_enable() was called first time;
 echo 'cmdline_proc_show:disable_event:initcall:initcall_finish' > \
     set_ftrace_filter

 # 2. Enable the event registered, then:
 #    1) SOFT_DISABLED_BIT was cleared;
 #    2) trace_buffered_event_disable() was called first time;
 echo 1 > events/initcall/initcall_finish/enable

 # 3. Try to call into cmdline_proc_show(), then SOFT_DISABLED_BIT was
 #    set again!!!
 cat /proc/cmdline

 # 4. Unregister the 'disable_event' command, then:
 #    1) SOFT_DISABLED_BIT was cleared again;
 #    2) trace_buffered_event_disable() was called second time!!!
 echo '!cmdline_proc_show:disable_event:initcall:initcall_finish' > \
     set_ftrace_filter
 ```

To fix it, IIUC, we can change to call trace_buffered_event_enable() at
fist time soft-mode enabled, and call trace_buffered_event_disable() at
last time soft-mode disabled.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54211?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54211?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54211 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54211 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54211 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54211 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 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-2023-54211 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-2023-54211/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54211/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54211
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54211
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54211

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54211/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.