CVE-2023-54126
Improper IRQ Cleanup in Linux crypto-safexcel Causes Boot Warning
Publication date: 2025-12-24
Last updated on: 2025-12-24
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's safexcel crypto driver. When the safexcel driver fails to load, it does not properly clean up the IRQ affinity and workqueues, leading to warnings and potential resource management issues during boot. The problem is that the IRQ workqueues remain uncleared on load failure, which can cause system instability or unexpected behavior.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
If the safexcel driver fails to load and does not clean up IRQ affinity and workqueues properly, it can cause warnings during system boot and potentially lead to resource leaks or instability in the kernel. This may affect system reliability and performance, especially on hardware relying on this driver for cryptographic operations.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by checking the system boot logs or kernel logs for the specific warning message related to the safexcel driver failing to load. Look for the warning: 'crypto-safexcel: probe of f2800000.crypto failed with error -2' and kernel warnings about IRQ affinity cleanup failures. You can use commands like 'dmesg | grep safexcel' or 'journalctl -k | grep safexcel' to find these messages.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves ensuring that the safexcel driver loads correctly and that the IRQ affinity and workqueues are properly cleaned up on failure. If the driver fails to load, investigate the cause of the failure and update the Linux kernel to a version where this issue is fixed. Monitoring boot logs for the warning and applying kernel updates are recommended steps.