CVE-2023-53393
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-09-18

Last updated on: 2025-12-12

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats when used for device Currently, when mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats() is used for device (port_num = 0), there is a special handling in order to use the correct counters, but, port_num is being passed down the stack without any change. Also, some functions assume that port_num >=1. As a result, the following oops can occur. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff89510294f1a8 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP CPU: 8 PID: 1382 Comm: devlink Tainted: G W 6.1.0-rc4_for_upstream_base_2022_11_10_16_12 #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:_raw_spin_lock+0xc/0x20 Call Trace: <TASK> mlx5_ib_get_native_port_mdev+0x73/0xe0 [mlx5_ib] do_get_hw_stats.constprop.0+0x109/0x160 [mlx5_ib] mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats+0xad/0x180 [mlx5_ib] ib_setup_device_attrs+0xf0/0x290 [ib_core] ib_register_device+0x3bb/0x510 [ib_core] ? atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x67/0x80 __mlx5_ib_add+0x2b/0x80 [mlx5_ib] mlx5r_probe+0xb8/0x150 [mlx5_ib] ? auxiliary_match_id+0x6a/0x90 auxiliary_bus_probe+0x3c/0x70 ? driver_sysfs_add+0x6b/0x90 really_probe+0xcd/0x380 __driver_probe_device+0x80/0x170 driver_probe_device+0x1e/0x90 __device_attach_driver+0x7d/0x100 ? driver_allows_async_probing+0x60/0x60 ? driver_allows_async_probing+0x60/0x60 bus_for_each_drv+0x7b/0xc0 __device_attach+0xbc/0x200 bus_probe_device+0x87/0xa0 device_add+0x404/0x940 ? dev_set_name+0x53/0x70 __auxiliary_device_add+0x43/0x60 add_adev+0x99/0xe0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_attach_device+0xc8/0x120 [mlx5_core] mlx5_load_one_devl_locked+0xb2/0xe0 [mlx5_core] devlink_reload+0x133/0x250 devlink_nl_cmd_reload+0x480/0x570 ? devlink_nl_pre_doit+0x44/0x2b0 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit.isra.0+0xc2/0x110 genl_rcv_msg+0x180/0x2b0 ? devlink_nl_cmd_region_read_dumpit+0x540/0x540 ? devlink_reload+0x250/0x250 ? devlink_put+0x50/0x50 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_doit.isra.0+0x110/0x110 netlink_rcv_skb+0x54/0x100 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x1f6/0x2c0 netlink_sendmsg+0x237/0x490 sock_sendmsg+0x33/0x40 __sys_sendto+0x103/0x160 ? handle_mm_fault+0x10e/0x290 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x1c0/0x5f0 __x64_sys_sendto+0x25/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x3d/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 Fix it by setting port_num to 1 in order to get device status and remove unused variable.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-09-18
Last Modified
2025-12-12
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2025-09-18
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2023-53393
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 5 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 4.16 (inc) to 5.15.87 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.16 (inc) to 6.0.19 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 6.1 (inc) to 6.1.5 (exc)
linux linux_kernel 6.2
linux linux_kernel 6.2
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's RDMA mlx5 driver, specifically in the mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats() function. When this function is used for the device (with port_num = 0), it incorrectly passes port_num down the stack without adjustment, while some functions expect port_num to be 1 or greater. This mismatch can cause a kernel oops (crash) due to an invalid memory access (page fault) when trying to handle hardware statistics.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash (kernel oops) when the mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats() function is called with port_num = 0. This can lead to system instability or downtime, affecting the availability of systems using the affected RDMA mlx5 driver.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability, where mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats() properly handles port_num by setting it to 1 to avoid the oops. Until then, avoid using mlx5_ib_get_hw_stats() with port_num = 0 to prevent kernel crashes.

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