Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2023-53563
A fix is available.
Upgrade to 6.1.53 / 6.4.16 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click
Patch available
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: amd-pstate-ut: Fix kernel panic when loading the driver After loading the amd-pstate-ut driver, amd_pstate_ut_check_perf() and amd_pstate_ut_check_freq() use cpufreq_cpu_get() to get the policy of the CPU and mark it as busy. In these functions, cpufreq_cpu_put() should be used to release the policy, but it is not, so any other entity trying to access the policy is blocked indefinitely. One such scenario is when amd_pstate mode is changed, leading to the following splat: [ 1332.103727] INFO: task bash:2929 blocked for more than 120 seconds. [ 1332.110001] Not tainted 6.5.0-rc2-amd-pstate-ut #5 [ 1332.115315] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message. [ 1332.123140] task:bash state:D stack:0 pid:2929 ppid:2873 flags:0x00004006 [ 1332.123143] Call Trace: [ 1332.123145] <TASK> [ 1332.123148] __schedule+0x3c1/0x16a0 [ 1332.123154] ? _raw_read_lock_irqsave+0x2d/0x70 [ 1332.123157] schedule+0x6f/0x110 [ 1332.123160] schedule_timeout+0x14f/0x160 [ 1332.123162] ? preempt_count_add+0x86/0xd0 [ 1332.123165] __wait_for_common+0x92/0x190 [ 1332.123168] ? __pfx_schedule_timeout+0x10/0x10 [ 1332.123170] wait_for_completion+0x28/0x30 [ 1332.123173] cpufreq_policy_put_kobj+0x4d/0x90 [ 1332.123177] cpufreq_policy_free+0x157/0x1d0 [ 1332.123178] ? preempt_count_add+0x58/0xd0 [ 1332.123180] cpufreq_remove_dev+0xb6/0x100 [ 1332.123182] subsys_interface_unregister+0x114/0x120 [ 1332.123185] ? preempt_count_add+0x58/0xd0 [ 1332.123187] ? __pfx_amd_pstate_change_driver_mode+0x10/0x10 [ 1332.123190] cpufreq_unregister_driver+0x3b/0xd0 [ 1332.123192] amd_pstate_change_driver_mode+0x1e/0x50 [ 1332.123194] store_status+0xe9/0x180 [ 1332.123197] dev_attr_store+0x1b/0x30 [ 1332.123199] sysfs_kf_write+0x42/0x50 [ 1332.123202] kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x143/0x1d0 [ 1332.123204] vfs_write+0x2df/0x400 [ 1332.123208] ksys_write+0x6b/0xf0 [ 1332.123210] __x64_sys_write+0x1d/0x30 [ 1332.123213] do_syscall_64+0x60/0x90 [ 1332.123216] ? fpregs_assert_state_consistent+0x2e/0x50 [ 1332.123219] ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x49/0x1a0 [ 1332.123223] ? irqentry_exit_to_user_mode+0xd/0x20 [ 1332.123225] ? irqentry_exit+0x3f/0x50 [ 1332.123226] ? exc_page_fault+0x8e/0x190 [ 1332.123228] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 [ 1332.123232] RIP: 0033:0x7fa74c514a37 [ 1332.123234] RSP: 002b:00007ffe31dd0788 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000001 [ 1332.123238] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000008 RCX: 00007fa74c514a37 [ 1332.123239] RDX: 0000000000000008 RSI: 000055e27c447aa0 RDI: 0000000000000001 [ 1332.123241] RBP: 000055e27c447aa0 R08: 00007fa74c5d1460 R09: 000000007fffffff [ 1332.123242] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000008 [ 1332.123244] R13: 00007fa74c61a780 R14: 00007fa74c616600 R15: 00007fa74c615a00 [ 1332.123247] </TASK> Fix this by calling cpufreq_cpu_put() wherever necessary. [ rjw: Subject and changelog edits ]
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisA detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:
>= 6.1, < 6.1.53>= 6.2, < 6.4.16>= 6.5, < 6.5.3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available
Upgrade to 6.1.53 / 6.4.16 / 6.5.3 or later
Fixed in
6.1.536.4.166.5.3
Vendor patch
git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix
High confidence
Linux Kernel 6.1.53, 6.4.16, or 6.5.3 or later (preferably latest stable 6.6.x or newer)
- 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- 2. Check if the current version is one of the affected versions: < 6.1.53, 6.2.x through 6.4.15, or 6.5.0-6.5.2
- 3. Plan for a system reboot after kernel upgrade
- 4. Update the package repository and install a newer kernel version: 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'sudo yum update' (RHEL/CentOS)
- 5. Ensure the new kernel version is at least 6.1.53, 6.4.16, or 6.5.3 or later
- 6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: 'sudo reboot'
- 7. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version after reboot and confirming amd-pstate-ut driver functions correctly
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatibility with the new kernel version before upgrading production systems
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600.
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Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53563 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2023-53563?
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
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