net/mlx5e: Don't clone flow post action attributes second time
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Don't clone flow post action attributes second time The code already clones post action attributes in mlx5e_clone_flow_attr_for_post_act(). Creating another copy in mlx5e_tc_post_act_add() is a erroneous leftover from original implementation. Instead, assign handle->attribute to post_attr provided by the caller. Note that cloning the attribute second time is not just wasteful but also causes issues like second copy not being properly updated in neigh update code which leads to following use-after-free: Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in mlx5_cmd_set_fte+0x200d/0x24c0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_report+0xbb/0x1a0 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: __kasan_kmalloc+0x7a/0x90 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_save_free_info+0x2a/0x40 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ____kasan_slab_free+0x11a/0x1b0 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_core 0000:08:00.0: mlx5_cmd_out_err:803:(pid 8833): SET_FLOW_TABLE_ENTRY(0x936) op_mod(0x0) failed, status bad resource state(0x9), syndrome (0xf2ff71), err(-22) Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_core 0000:08:00.0 enp8s0f0: Failed to add post action rule Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_core 0000:08:00.0: mlx5e_tc_encap_flows_add:190:(pid 8833): Failed to update flow post acts, -22 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: Call Trace: Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: <TASK> Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x7d Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: print_report+0x170/0x471 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ? mlx5_cmd_set_fte+0x200d/0x24c0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_report+0xbb/0x1a0 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ? mlx5_cmd_set_fte+0x200d/0x24c0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_cmd_set_fte+0x200d/0x24c0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ? __module_address.part.0+0x62/0x200 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ? mlx5_cmd_stub_create_flow_table+0xd0/0xd0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: ? __raw_spin_lock_init+0x3b/0x110 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_cmd_create_fte+0x80/0xb0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: add_rule_fg+0xe80/0x19c0 [mlx5_core] -- Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: Allocated by task 13476: Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: __kasan_kmalloc+0x7a/0x90 Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5_packet_reformat_alloc+0x7b/0x230 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_tc_tun_create_header_ipv4+0x977/0xf10 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_attach_encap+0x15b4/0x1e10 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: post_process_attr+0x305/0xa30 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_tc_add_fdb_flow+0x4c0/0xcf0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: __mlx5e_add_fdb_flow+0x7cf/0xe90 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_configure_flower+0xcaa/0x4b90 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_rep_setup_tc_cls_flower+0x99/0x1b0 [mlx5_core] Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: mlx5e_rep_setup_tc_cb+0x133/0x1e0 [mlx5_core] -- Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: Freed by task 8833: Feb 21 09:02:00 c-237-177-40-045 kernel: kasan_save_s ---truncated---
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4
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 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-54262
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jg98-775f-9rrv
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-16 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
More Linux 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-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2023-54262 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-54262 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jg98-775f-9rrv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-54262 · 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