# CVE-2024-53052: io_uring/rw: fix missing NOWAIT check for O_DIRECT start write > A race condition in the Linux kernel's io_uring subsystem can cause a deadlock during filesystem freezes, leading to a denial of service. - **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **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:** 19 Nov 2024 - **Updated:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-53864, AZL-53957, BELL-CVE-2024-53052, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-53052, GHSA-fhmx-7jhg-8h34, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-53052 ## What is CVE-2024-53052? CVE-2024-53052 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 2024. 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: io_uring/rw: fix missing NOWAIT check for O_DIRECT start write When io_uring starts a write, it'll call kiocb_start_write() to bump the super block rwsem, preventing any freezes from happening while that write is in-flight. The freeze side will grab that rwsem for writing, excluding any new writers from happening and waiting for existing writes to finish. But io_uring unconditionally uses kiocb_start_write(), which will block if someone is currently attempting to freeze the mount point. This causes a deadlock where freeze is waiting for previous writes to complete, but the previous writes cannot complete, as the task that is supposed to complete them is blocked waiting on starting a new write. This results in the following stuck trace showing that dependency with the write blocked starting a new write: task:fio state:D stack:0 pid:886 tgid:886 ppid:876 Call trace: __switch_to+0x1d8/0x348 __schedule+0x8e8/0x2248 schedule+0x110/0x3f0 percpu_rwsem_wait+0x1e8/0x3f8 __percpu_down_read+0xe8/0x500 io_write+0xbb8/0xff8 io_issue_sqe+0x10c/0x1020 io_submit_sqes+0x614/0x2110 __arm64_sys_io_uring_enter+0x524/0x1038 invoke_syscall+0x74/0x268 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x160/0x238 do_el0_svc+0x44/0x60 el0_svc+0x44/0xb0 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x118/0x128 el0t_64_sync+0x168/0x170 INFO: task fsfreeze:7364 blocked for more than 15 seconds. Not tainted 6.12.0-rc5-00063-g76aaf945701c #7963 with the attempting freezer stuck trying to grab the rwsem: task:fsfreeze state:D stack:0 pid:7364 tgid:7364 ppid:995 Call trace: __switch_to+0x1d8/0x348 __schedule+0x8e8/0x2248 schedule+0x110/0x3f0 percpu_down_write+0x2b0/0x680 freeze_super+0x248/0x8a8 do_vfs_ioctl+0x149c/0x1b18 __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xd0/0x1a0 invoke_syscall+0x74/0x268 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x160/0x238 do_el0_svc+0x44/0x60 el0_svc+0x44/0xb0 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x118/0x128 el0t_64_sync+0x168/0x170 Fix this by having the io_uring side honor IOCB_NOWAIT, and only attempt a blocking grab of the super block rwsem if it isn't set. For normal issue where IOCB_NOWAIT would always be set, this returns -EAGAIN which will have io_uring core issue a blocking attempt of the write. That will in turn also get completions run, ensuring forward progress. Since freezing requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN in the first place, this isn't something that can be triggered by a regular user. Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-53052? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2024-53052? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2024-53052 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-53052 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel - [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2024-53052 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2024-53052 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 2024. 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-2024-53052 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2024-53052/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53052/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-53052 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-53052 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-53052 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53052/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.