firmware: arm_ffa: Fix FFA device names for logical partitions
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: firmware: arm_ffa: Fix FFA device names for logical partitions Each physical partition can provide multiple services each with UUID. Each such service can be presented as logical partition with a unique combination of VM ID and UUID. The number of distinct UUID in a system will be less than or equal to the number of logical partitions. However, currently it fails to register more than one logical partition or service within a physical partition as the device name contains only VM ID while both VM ID and UUID are maintained in the partition information. The kernel complains with the below message: | sysfs: cannot create duplicate filename '/devices/arm-ffa-8001' | CPU: 1 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.3.0-rc7 #8 | Hardware name: FVP Base RevC (DT) | Call trace: | dump_backtrace+0xf8/0x118 | show_stack+0x18/0x24 | dump_stack_lvl+0x50/0x68 | dump_stack+0x18/0x24 | sysfs_create_dir_ns+0xe0/0x13c | kobject_add_internal+0x220/0x3d4 | kobject_add+0x94/0x100 | device_add+0x144/0x5d8 | device_register+0x20/0x30 | ffa_device_register+0x88/0xd8 | ffa_setup_partitions+0x108/0x1b8 | ffa_init+0x2ec/0x3a4 | do_one_initcall+0xcc/0x240 | do_initcall_level+0x8c/0xac | do_initcalls+0x54/0x94 | do_basic_setup+0x1c/0x28 | kernel_init_freeable+0x100/0x16c | kernel_init+0x20/0x1a0 | ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 | kobject_add_internal failed for arm-ffa-8001 with -EEXIST, don't try to | register things with the same name in the same directory. | arm_ffa arm-ffa: unable to register device arm-ffa-8001 err=-17 | ARM FF-A: ffa_setup_partitions: failed to register partition ID 0x8001 By virtue of being random enough to avoid collisions when generated in a distributed system, there is no way to compress UUID keys to the number of bits required to identify each. We can eliminate '-' in the name but it is not worth eliminating 4 bytes and add unnecessary logic for doing that. Also v1.0 doesn't provide the UUID of the partitions which makes it hard to use the same for the device name. So to keep it simple, let us alloc an ID using ida_alloc() and append the same to "arm-ffa" to make up a unique device name. Also stash the id value in ffa_dev to help freeing the ID later when the device is destroyed.
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 | 5.14 and later | 5.15.114, 6.1.31, 6.3.5, 6.4 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.14 and later Fixed in 5.15.114, 6.1.31, 6.3.5, 6.4 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.14 to before 5.15.114; 5.16 to before 6.1.31; 6.2 to before 6.3.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.4 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.4 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.4 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.14 to before 5.15.114; 5.16 to before 6.1.31; 6.2 to before 6.3.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.4 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.4 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.4 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.114, 6.1.31, 6.3.5, 6.4
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2024:2394 Released 2024-04-30 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.3.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, libperf-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2394 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2394 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2394 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2394 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2394 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53256
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vg5j-xj2v-j47w
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-53256 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53256 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vg5j-xj2v-j47w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53256 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences