CVE-2023-52638

System hang via J1939 lock-order deadlock

Published Apr 3, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Improper locking in Linux kernel J1939 allows local users to hang affected systems by racing concurrent socket operations. The J1939 socket path can hold j1939_socks_lock while acquiring sk_session_queue_lock as another thread takes those locks in reverse order. Reaching the race requires local low-privileged access to concurrent J1939 socket operations, and successful triggering stalls kernel work through a circular lock dependency.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper locking in Linux kernel J1939 allows local users to hang affected systems by racing concurrent socket operations. The J1939 socket path can hold j1939_socks_lock while acquiring sk_session_queue_lock as another thread takes those locks in reverse order. Reaching the race requires local low-privileged access to concurrent J1939 socket operations, and successful triggering stalls kernel work through a circular lock dependency.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52638
Published
Apr 3, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-667, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 3, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.15
  2. Affected versionversion=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <03358aba991668d3bb2c65b3c82aa32c36851170
  3. Affected versionversion=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <26dfe112ec2e95fe0099681f6aec33da13c2dd8e
  4. Affected versionversion=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <559b6322f9480bff68cfa98d108991e945a4f284
  5. Affected versionversion=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <6cdedc18ba7b9dacc36466e27e3267d201948c8d
  6. Affected versionversion=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <aedda066d717a0b4335d7e0a00b2e3a61e40afcf

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.15; version=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <03358aba991668d3bb2c65b3c82aa32c36851170; version=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <26dfe112ec2e95fe0099681f6aec33da13c2dd8e; version=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <559b6322f9480bff68cfa98d108991e945a4f284; version=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <6cdedc18ba7b9dacc36466e27e3267d201948c8d; version=5b9272e93f2efe3f6cda60cc2c26817b2ce49386 <aedda066d717a0b4335d7e0a00b2e3a61e40afcf

Published CVSS scores

5.5NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-667Improper Locking
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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