net/mlx5e: Fix cleanup null-ptr deref on encap lock
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Fix cleanup null-ptr deref on encap lock During module is unloaded while a peer tc flow is still offloaded, first the peer uplink rep profile is changed to a nic profile, and so neigh encap lock is destroyed. Next during unload, the VF reps netdevs are unregistered which causes the original non-peer tc flow to be deleted, which deletes the peer flow. The peer flow deletion detaches the encap entry and try to take the already destroyed encap lock, causing the below trace. Fix this by clearing peer flows during tc eswitch cleanup (mlx5e_tc_esw_cleanup()). Relevant trace: [ 4316.837128] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000001d8 [ 4316.842239] RIP: 0010:__mutex_lock+0xb5/0xc40 [ 4316.851897] Call Trace: [ 4316.852481] <TASK> [ 4316.857214] mlx5e_rep_neigh_entry_release+0x93/0x790 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.858258] mlx5e_rep_encap_entry_detach+0xa7/0xf0 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.859134] mlx5e_encap_dealloc+0xa3/0xf0 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.859867] clean_encap_dests.part.0+0x5c/0xe0 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.860605] mlx5e_tc_del_fdb_flow+0x32a/0x810 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.862609] __mlx5e_tc_del_fdb_peer_flow+0x1a2/0x250 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.863394] mlx5e_tc_del_flow+0x(/0x630 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.864090] mlx5e_flow_put+0x5f/0x100 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.864771] mlx5e_delete_flower+0x4de/0xa40 [mlx5_core] [ 4316.865486] tc_setup_cb_reoffload+0x20/0x80 [ 4316.865905] fl_reoffload+0x47c/0x510 [cls_flower] [ 4316.869181] tcf_block_playback_offloads+0x91/0x1d0 [ 4316.869649] tcf_block_unbind+0xe7/0x1b0 [ 4316.870049] tcf_block_offload_cmd.isra.0+0x1ee/0x270 [ 4316.879266] tcf_block_offload_unbind+0x61/0xa0 [ 4316.879711] __tcf_block_put+0xa4/0x310
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.0 and later | 6.1.21, 6.2.8, 6.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.0 and later Fixed in 6.1.21, 6.2.8, 6.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.21, 6.2.8, 6.3
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2023:7077 Released 2023-11-14 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9 +19
- RHSA-2023:6583 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, libperf-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.2.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53105
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w3vx-37cc-jxmm
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-53105 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53105 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w3vx-37cc-jxmm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53105 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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