CVE-2023-54226: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk_shutdown.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk_shutdown. KCSAN found a data race around sk->sk_shutdown where unix_release_sock() and unix_shutdown() update it under unix_state_lock(), OTOH unix_poll() and unix_dgram_poll() read it locklessly. We need to annotate the writes and reads with WRITE_ONCE() and READ_ONCE(). BUG: KCSAN: data-race in unix_poll / unix_release_sock write to 0xffff88800d0f8aec of 1 bytes by task 264 on cpu 0: unix_release_sock+0x75c/0x910 net/unix/af_unix.c:631 unix_release+0x59/0x80 net/unix/af_unix.c:1042 __sock_release+0x7d/0x170 net/socket.c:653 sock_close+0x19/0x30 net/socket.c:1397 __fput+0x179/0x5e0 fs/file_table.c:321 ____fput+0x15/0x20 fs/file_table.c:349 task_work_run+0x116/0x1a0 kernel/task_work.c:179 resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:49 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_loop kernel/entry/common.c:171 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x174/0x180 kernel/entry/common.c:204 __syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work kernel/entry/common.c:286 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x1a/0x30 kernel/entry/common.c:297 do_syscall_64+0x4b/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:86 entry_S

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.21%, higher than 10% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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