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CVE Record

CVE-2023-53070: ACPI: PPTT: Fix to avoid sleep in the atomic context when PPTT is absent

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ACPI: PPTT: Fix to avoid sleep in the atomic context when PPTT is absent Commit 0c80f9e165f8 ("ACPI: PPTT: Leave the table mapped for the runtime usage") enabled to map PPTT once on the first invocation of acpi_get_pptt() and never unmapped the same allowing it to be used at runtime with out the hassle of mapping and unmapping the table. This was needed to fetch LLC information from the PPTT in the cpuhotplug path which is executed in the atomic context as the acpi_get_table() might sleep waiting for a mutex. However it missed to handle the case when there is no PPTT on the system which results in acpi_get_pptt() being called from all the secondary CPUs attempting to fetch the LLC information in the atomic context without knowing the absence of PPTT resulting in the splat like below: | BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/semaphore.c:164 | in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 1, non_block: 0, pid: 0, name: swapper/1 | preempt_count: 1, expected: 0 | RCU nest depth: 0, expected: 0 | no locks held by swapper/1/0. | irq event stamp: 0 | hardirqs last enabled at (0): 0x0 | hardirqs last disabled at (0): copy_process+0x61c/0x1b40 | softirqs last enabled at (0): copy_process+0x61c/0x1b40 | softirqs last disabled at (0): 0x0 | CPU: 1 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/1 Not tainted 6.3.0-rc1 #1 | Call trace: | dump_backtrace+0xac/0x138 | show_stack+0x30/0x48 | dump_stack_lvl+0x60/0xb0 | dump_stack+0x18/0x28 | __might_resched+0x160/0x270 | __might_sleep+0x58/0xb0 | down_timeout+0x34/0x98 | acpi_os_wait_semaphore+0x7c/0xc0 | acpi_ut_acquire_mutex+0x58/0x108 | acpi_get_table+0x40/0xe8 | acpi_get_pptt+0x48/0xa0 | acpi_get_cache_info+0x38/0x140 | init_cache_level+0xf4/0x118 | detect_cache_attributes+0x2e4/0x640 | update_siblings_masks+0x3c/0x330 | store_cpu_topology+0x88/0xf0 | secondary_start_kernel+0xd0/0x168 | __secondary_switched+0xb8/0xc0 Update acpi_get_pptt() to consider the fact that PPTT is once checked and is not available on the system and return NULL avoiding any attempts to fetch PPTT and thereby avoiding any possible sleep waiting for a mutex in the atomic context.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue affects systems where firmware lacks the ACPI PPTT table. During CPU startup or topology handling, the kernel could try an operation that may sleep while in an atomic context, causing a kernel BUG warning. The sources do not show remote exploitation, privilege escalation, or data compromise.

Executive priority

Treat this as a maintenance-priority kernel stability issue unless local evidence shows boot or CPU hotplug impact. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation or broad business compromise, but affected infrastructure should receive normal kernel updates.

Technical view

acpi_get_pptt() cached mapped PPTT data for runtime use but did not cache the table’s absence. On systems without PPTT, secondary CPU cache discovery could call acpi_get_table() from atomic context, potentially waiting on a mutex and triggering a sleeping-in-atomic BUG. The fix returns NULL after PPTT absence is known.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to affected Linux kernel versions on ACPI systems without PPTT. The bundle lists Linux 6.0, 6.1.21, 6.2.8, and 6.3 as affected, but distribution backport status must be verified separately.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is reported in the provided sources, and KEV is false. The described failure is a kernel runtime correctness issue during CPU topology/cache initialization, not a documented attacker-driven exploit path.

Researcher notes

The key condition is PPTT absence plus runtime calls through CPU cache/topology initialization. The fix changes acpi_get_pptt() behavior to remember missing PPTT and avoid repeated acpi_get_table() calls from atomic context. CVSS and CWE data are not provided.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check your Linux distribution advisory for backported kernel packages.
  • Prioritize affected ACPI servers or appliances that boot or hotplug CPUs unreliably.
  • Avoid assuming non-upstream version numbers map directly to affected status.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm the running kernel version and distribution patch level.
  • Check whether the platform exposes ACPI PPTT firmware data.
  • Review boot logs for sleeping-in-atomic BUG splats in ACPI PPTT paths.
  • Map deployed kernels against vendor advisories or the referenced stable commits.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

Vulnerability timeline

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  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

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  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

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Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux0c80f9e165f8f9cca743d7b6cbdb54362da297e0, 0c80f9e165f8f9cca743d7b6cbdb54362da297e0, 0c80f9e165f8f9cca743d7b6cbdb54362da297e0, f03d253ba71994b196f342a7acad448a56812a8cunaffected
LinuxLinux6.0, 0, 6.1.21, 6.2.8, 6.3affected
Weakness

CWE details

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