CVE-2023-53016

RFCOMM hang via inverted socket lock ordering

Published Mar 27, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Improper locking in Linux kernel 5.15 and later affected branches allows local users to hang Bluetooth RFCOMM operations through concurrent sockets. In net/bluetooth/rfcomm/sock.c, rfcomm_sock_connect takes the socket lock before the RFCOMM lock while rfcomm_sock_release takes them in reverse order, creating a deadlock. Reachability requires local access to create, connect, and concurrently release RFCOMM sockets; the bounded consequence is blocked Bluetooth RFCOMM processing.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
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 5.15 and later affected branches allows local users to hang Bluetooth RFCOMM operations through concurrent sockets. In net/bluetooth/rfcomm/sock.c, rfcomm_sock_connect takes the socket lock before the RFCOMM lock while rfcomm_sock_release takes them in reverse order, creating a deadlock. Reachability requires local access to create, connect, and concurrently release RFCOMM sockets; the bounded consequence is blocked Bluetooth RFCOMM processing.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53016
Published
Mar 27, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-416, CWE-667, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 27, 2025CVE 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=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <17511bd84871f4a6106cb335616e086880313f3f
  2. Affected versionversion=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <1d80d57ffcb55488f0ec0b77928d4f82d16b6a90
  3. Affected versionversion=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <98aec50ff7f60cc6f2d6a4396b475c547e58b04d
  4. Affected versionversion=5.15

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <17511bd84871f4a6106cb335616e086880313f3f; version=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <1d80d57ffcb55488f0ec0b77928d4f82d16b6a90; version=1804fdf6e494e5e2938c65d8391690b59bcff897 <98aec50ff7f60cc6f2d6a4396b475c547e58b04d; version=5.15

Published CVSS scores

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS: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.

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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-416Use After Free
CWE-667Improper Locking
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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