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Response snapshot Oct 30, 2026, 17:36 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2023-53823

Linux kernel: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock commit 50e34d78815e ("block: disable the elevator int del_gendisk") move rq_qos_exit() from disk_release() to del_gendisk(), this will introduce some problems: 1) If rq_qos_add() is triggered by enabling iocost/iolatency through cgroupfs, then it can concurrent with del_gendisk(), it's not safe to write 'q->rq_qos' concurrently.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
7.8 High (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.2% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2023-53823 (opens a new tab)

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock

commit 50e34d78815e ("block: disable the elevator int del_gendisk") move rq_qos_exit() from disk_release() to del_gendisk(), this will introduce some problems:

1) If rq_qos_add() is triggered by enabling iocost/iolatency through cgroupfs, then it can concurrent with del_gendisk(), it's not safe to write 'q->rq_qos' concurrently.

Continue reading

2) Activate cgroup policy that is relied on rq_qos will call rq_qos_add() and blkcg_activate_policy(), and if rq_qos_exit() is called in the middle, null-ptr-dereference will be triggered in blkcg_activate_policy().

3) blkg_conf_open_bdev() can call blkdev_get_no_open() first to find the disk, then if rq_qos_exit() from del_gendisk() is done before rq_qos_add(), then memory will be leaked.

This patch add a new disk level mutex 'rq_qos_mutex':

1) The lock will protect rq_qos_exit() directly.

2) For wbt that doesn't relied on blk-cgroup, rq_qos_add() can only be called from disk initialization for now because wbt can't be destructed until rq_qos_exit(), so it's safe not to protect wbt for now. Hoever, in case that rq_qos dynamically destruction is supported in the furture, this patch also protect rq_qos_add() from wbt_init() directly, this is enough because blk-sysfs already synchronize writers with disk removal.

3) For iocost and iolatency, in order to synchronize disk removal and cgroup configuration, the lock is held after blkdev_get_no_open() from blkg_conf_open_bdev(), and is released in blkg_conf_exit(). In order to fix the above memory leak, disk_live() is checked after holding the new lock.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

7.8

Version 3.1As of

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

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.2%

Scored Percentile 7.9%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2023-53823 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2023-53823, scored 2026-10-30. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 30). Linux kernel: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock (CVE-2023-53823). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2023-53823

MLA

"Linux kernel: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock (CVE-2023-53823)." KEVWire, 30 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2023-53823.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock (CVE-2023-53823)." Last modified October 30, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2023-53823.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock (Dec 9, 2025).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

block/rq_qos: protect rq_qos apis with a new lock

commit 50e34d78815e ("block: disable the elevator int del_gendisk")
move rq_qos_exit() from disk_release() to del_gendisk(), this will
introduce some problems:

1) If rq_qos_add() is triggered by enabling iocost/iolatency through
   cgroupfs, then it can concurrent with del_gendisk(), it's not safe to
   write 'q->rq_qos' concurrently.
CVSS 7.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 30, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53823).
EPSS 0.2% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 30, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-53823&date=2026-10-30).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2023-53823: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53823
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T13:06:45.042Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:50:57.069Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T12:22:16.957Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:05:57.373Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T11:45:59.009Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T13:20:57.281Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-53823&date=2026-10-30
Record ID: CVE-2023-53823.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 30, 2026, 14:52 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Deferred. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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