# CVE-2023-54303: bpf: Disable preemption in bpf_perf_event_output

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem allows two tasks to corrupt shared buffers, leading to system crashes.

- **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:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54303, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54303, GHSA-cw6q-jwcq-fg6h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54303

## What is CVE-2023-54303?

CVE-2023-54303 is a high-severity 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:

bpf: Disable preemption in bpf_perf_event_output

The nesting protection in bpf_perf_event_output relies on disabled
preemption, which is guaranteed for kprobes and tracepoints.

However bpf_perf_event_output can be also called from uprobes context
through bpf_prog_run_array_sleepable function which disables migration,
but keeps preemption enabled.

This can cause task to be preempted by another one inside the nesting
protection and lead eventually to two tasks using same perf_sample_data
buffer and cause crashes like:

  kernel tried to execute NX-protected page - exploit attempt? (uid: 0)
  BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffff82be3eea
  ...
  Call Trace:
   ? __die+0x1f/0x70
   ? page_fault_oops+0x176/0x4d0
   ? exc_page_fault+0x132/0x230
   ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30
   ? perf_output_sample+0x12b/0x910
   ? perf_event_output+0xd0/0x1d0
   ? bpf_perf_event_output+0x162/0x1d0
   ? bpf_prog_c6271286d9a4c938_krava1+0x76/0x87
   ? __uprobe_perf_func+0x12b/0x540
   ? uprobe_dispatcher+0x2c4/0x430
   ? uprobe_notify_resume+0x2da/0xce0
   ? atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x7b/0x110
   ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x13e/0x290
   ? irqentry_exit_to_user_mode+0x5/0x30
   ? asm_exc_int3+0x35/0x40

Fixing this by disabling preemption in bpf_perf_event_output.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54303?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54303?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54303 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54303 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54303 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54303 is a high-severity 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-2023-54303 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-2023-54303/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54303/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54303
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54303
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54303

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54303/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.