Reboot deadlock via held USB audio descriptor
Published May 2, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
Denial of service in the Linux USB audio gadget code allows local users to block driver unbind and deadlock a reboot. The f_uac1 and f_uac2 unbind path calls snd_card_free() through g_audio_cleanup(), which waits for a sound-card reference count that userspace can keep elevated with an open file descriptor. A local user with access to the gadget sound device can hold that descriptor open, causing the unbind operation or a reboot to hang indefinitely without reported data exposure or modification.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in the Linux USB audio gadget code allows local users to block driver unbind and deadlock a reboot. The f_uac1 and f_uac2 unbind path calls snd_card_free() through g_audio_cleanup(), which waits for a sound-card reference count that userspace can keep elevated with an open file descriptor. A local user with access to the gadget sound device can hold that descriptor open, causing the unbind operation or a reboot to hang indefinitely without reported data exposure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-53045
- Published
- May 2, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 2, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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?
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- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <0eda2004f38d95ef5715d62be884cd344260535b
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <3256e152b645fc1e788ba44c2d8ced690113e3e6
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <33f341c1fc60e172a3515c51bdabee11e83d1ee9
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <3bc7324e4911351e39c54a62e6ca46321cb10faf
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <3e016ef2e72da93a2ea7afbb45de1b481b44d761
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <43ca70753dfffd517d2af126da28690f8f615605
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <6c67ed9ad9b83e453e808f9b31a931a20a25629b
- Affected versionversion=132fcb460839a876f5bc8b71bede60f8d0875757 <b131989797f7287d7fdadb2bababc05a15d44750
- Affected versionversion=3.4
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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