Bug 2355499 (CVE-2023-53007)

Summary:	CVE-2023-53007 kernel: Linux kernel: Denial of Service due to trace_printk() event registration timing
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	low	Docs Contact:
Priority:	low
Version:	unspecified	CC:	dfreiber, drow, jburrell, rhel-process-autobot, vkumar, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone:	---	Keywords:	Security
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A local user could experience a denial of service (DoS) if a system crash occurs very early in the boot process. This is because trace_printk() events, which are crucial for debugging, are not registered early enough. This timing issue results in unreadable trace output, hindering critical system analysis and debugging efforts.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2025-03-27 17:04:23 UTC

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

tracing: Make sure trace_printk() can output as soon as it can be used

Currently trace_printk() can be used as soon as early_trace_init() is
called from start_kernel(). But if a crash happens, and
"ftrace_dump_on_oops" is set on the kernel command line, all you get will
be:

  [    0.456075]   <idle>-0         0dN.2. 347519us : Unknown type 6
  [    0.456075]   <idle>-0         0dN.2. 353141us : Unknown type 6
  [    0.456075]   <idle>-0         0dN.2. 358684us : Unknown type 6

This is because the trace_printk() event (type 6) hasn't been registered
yet. That gets done via an early_initcall(), which may be early, but not
early enough.

Instead of registering the trace_printk() event (and other ftrace events,
which are not trace events) via an early_initcall(), have them registered at
the same time that trace_printk() can be used. This way, if there is a
crash before early_initcall(), then the trace_printk()s will actually be
useful.

Comment 1 Robb Gatica 2025-03-27 21:15:41 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025032713-CVE-2023-53007-6ed4@gregkh/T