# CVE-2023-54288: wifi: mac80211: fortify the spinlock against deadlock by interrupt > A race condition in the Linux kernel mac80211 WiFi driver can cause a deadlock and system hang when an interrupt occurs during spinlock acquisition. - **Severity:** Not scored - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 30 Dec 2025 - **Updated:** 23 May 2026 - **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54288, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54288, GHSA-3v5g-mc4j-7vr8, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54288 ## What is CVE-2023-54288? CVE-2023-54288 is a 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: wifi: mac80211: fortify the spinlock against deadlock by interrupt In the function ieee80211_tx_dequeue() there is a particular locking sequence: begin: spin_lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); q_stopped = local->queue_stop_reasons[q]; spin_unlock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); However small the chance (increased by ftracetest), an asynchronous interrupt can occur in between of spin_lock() and spin_unlock(), and the interrupt routine will attempt to lock the same &local->queue_stop_reason_lock again. This will cause a costly reset of the CPU and the wifi device or an altogether hang in the single CPU and single core scenario. The only remaining spin_lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock) that did not disable interrupts was patched, which should prevent any deadlocks on the same CPU/core and the same wifi device. This is the probable trace of the deadlock: kernel: ================================ kernel: WARNING: inconsistent lock state kernel: 6.3.0-rc6-mt-20230401-00001-gf86822a1170f #4 Tainted: G W kernel: -------------------------------- kernel: inconsistent {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} -> {SOFTIRQ-ON-W} usage. kernel: kworker/5:0/25656 [HC0[0]:SC0[0]:HE1:SE1] takes: kernel: ffff9d6190779478 (&local->queue_stop_reason_lock){+.?.}-{2:2}, at: return_to_handler+0x0/0x40 kernel: {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} state was registered at: kernel: lock_acquire+0xc7/0x2d0 kernel: _raw_spin_lock+0x36/0x50 kernel: ieee80211_tx_dequeue+0xb4/0x1330 [mac80211] kernel: iwl_mvm_mac_itxq_xmit+0xae/0x210 [iwlmvm] kernel: iwl_mvm_mac_wake_tx_queue+0x2d/0xd0 [iwlmvm] kernel: ieee80211_queue_skb+0x450/0x730 [mac80211] kernel: __ieee80211_xmit_fast.constprop.66+0x834/0xa50 [mac80211] kernel: __ieee80211_subif_start_xmit+0x217/0x530 [mac80211] kernel: ieee80211_subif_start_xmit+0x60/0x580 [mac80211] kernel: dev_hard_start_xmit+0xb5/0x260 kernel: __dev_queue_xmit+0xdbe/0x1200 kernel: neigh_resolve_output+0x166/0x260 kernel: ip_finish_output2+0x216/0xb80 kernel: __ip_finish_output+0x2a4/0x4d0 kernel: ip_finish_output+0x2d/0xd0 kernel: ip_output+0x82/0x2b0 kernel: ip_local_out+0xec/0x110 kernel: igmpv3_sendpack+0x5c/0x90 kernel: igmp_ifc_timer_expire+0x26e/0x4e0 kernel: call_timer_fn+0xa5/0x230 kernel: run_timer_softirq+0x27f/0x550 kernel: __do_softirq+0xb4/0x3a4 kernel: irq_exit_rcu+0x9b/0xc0 kernel: sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x80/0xa0 kernel: asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1f/0x30 kernel: _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x3f/0x70 kernel: free_to_partial_list+0x3d6/0x590 kernel: __slab_free+0x1b7/0x310 kernel: kmem_cache_free+0x52d/0x550 kernel: putname+0x5d/0x70 kernel: do_sys_openat2+0x1d7/0x310 kernel: do_sys_open+0x51/0x80 kernel: __x64_sys_openat+0x24/0x30 kernel: do_syscall_64+0x5c/0x90 kernel: entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc kernel: irq event stamp: 5120729 kernel: hardirqs last enabled at (5120729): [] trace_graph_return+0xd6/0x120 kernel: hardirqs last disabled at (5120728): [] trace_graph_return+0xf0/0x120 kernel: softirqs last enabled at (5069900): [] return_to_handler+0x0/0x40 kernel: softirqs last disabled at (5067555): [] return_to_handler+0x0/0x40 kernel: other info that might help us debug this: kernel: Possible unsafe locking scenario: kernel: CPU0 kernel: ---- kernel: lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); kernel: kernel: lock(&local->queue_stop_reason_lock); kernel: *** DEADLOCK *** kernel: 8 locks held by kworker/5:0/25656: kernel: #0: ffff9d618009d138 ((wq_completion)events_freezable){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1ca/0x530 kernel: #1: ffffb1ef4637fe68 ((work_completion)(&local->restart_work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1ce/0x530 kernel: #2: ffffffff9f166548 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: return_to_handler+0x0/0x40 kernel: #3: ffff9d619 ---truncated--- ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54288? ## How do I fix CVE-2023-54288? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2023-54288 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54288 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54288 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2023-54288 is a 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-2023-54288 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-2023-54288/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54288/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54288 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54288 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54288 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54288/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.