CVE-2023-53730: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2023-53730 is a low severity vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel's block I/O cost controller (blk-iocost). The vulnerability was disclosed in August 2025 and affects various versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) including versions 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (CISA Bulletin, Red Hat Portal).

The vulnerability is related to improper locking mechanisms in the adjustinuseandcalccost function of the block I/O cost controller. Specifically, it involves the need to use spinlockirqsave instead of regular locking mechanisms. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5, indicating moderate severity (CISA Bulletin).

The vulnerability could potentially lead to race conditions in the kernel's I/O cost controller, which might result in system instability or local privilege escalation. However, due to its low severity rating and local attack vector, the real-world impact is considered limited (Red Hat Portal).

Red Hat has released patches for affected versions of RHEL. System administrators are advised to apply the latest kernel updates available for their respective versions of RHEL (Red Hat Portal).