CVE-2023-54271
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux blk-cgroup Causes Kernel Crash

Publication date: 2025-12-30

Last updated on: 2025-12-30

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-cgroup: Fix NULL deref caused by blkg_policy_data being installed before init blk-iocost sometimes causes the following crash: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000e0 ... RIP: 0010:_raw_spin_lock+0x17/0x30 Code: be 01 02 00 00 e8 79 38 39 ff 31 d2 89 d0 5d c3 0f 1f 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 55 48 89 e5 65 ff 05 48 d0 34 7e b9 01 00 00 00 31 c0 <f0> 0f b1 0f 75 02 5d c3 89 c6 e8 ea 04 00 00 5d c3 0f 1f 84 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc900023b3d40 EFLAGS: 00010046 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 00000000000000e0 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: ffffc900023b3d20 RSI: ffffc900023b3cf0 RDI: 00000000000000e0 RBP: ffffc900023b3d40 R08: ffffc900023b3c10 R09: 0000000000000003 R10: 0000000000000064 R11: 000000000000000a R12: ffff888102337000 R13: fffffffffffffff2 R14: ffff88810af408c8 R15: ffff8881070c3600 FS: 00007faaaf364fc0(0000) GS:ffff88842fdc0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00000000000000e0 CR3: 00000001097b1000 CR4: 0000000000350ea0 Call Trace: <TASK> ioc_weight_write+0x13d/0x410 cgroup_file_write+0x7a/0x130 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0xf5/0x170 vfs_write+0x298/0x370 ksys_write+0x5f/0xb0 __x64_sys_write+0x1b/0x20 do_syscall_64+0x3d/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 This happens because iocg->ioc is NULL. The field is initialized by ioc_pd_init() and never cleared. The NULL deref is caused by blkcg_activate_policy() installing blkg_policy_data before initializing it. blkcg_activate_policy() was doing the following: 1. Allocate pd's for all existing blkg's and install them in blkg->pd[]. 2. Initialize all pd's. 3. Online all pd's. blkcg_activate_policy() only grabs the queue_lock and may release and re-acquire the lock as allocation may need to sleep. ioc_weight_write() grabs blkcg->lock and iterates all its blkg's. The two can race and if ioc_weight_write() runs during #1 or between #1 and #2, it can encounter a pd which is not initialized yet, leading to crash. The crash can be reproduced with the following script: #!/bin/bash echo +io > /sys/fs/cgroup/cgroup.subtree_control systemd-run --unit touch-sda --scope dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/null bs=1M count=1 iflag=direct echo 100 > /sys/fs/cgroup/system.slice/io.weight bash -c "echo '8:0 enable=1' > /sys/fs/cgroup/io.cost.qos" & sleep .2 echo 100 > /sys/fs/cgroup/system.slice/io.weight with the following patch applied: > diff --git a/block/blk-cgroup.c b/block/blk-cgroup.c > index fc49be622e05..38d671d5e10c 100644 > --- a/block/blk-cgroup.c > +++ b/block/blk-cgroup.c > @@ -1553,6 +1553,12 @@ int blkcg_activate_policy(struct gendisk *disk, const struct blkcg_policy *pol) > pd->online = false; > } > > + if (system_state == SYSTEM_RUNNING) { > + spin_unlock_irq(&q->queue_lock); > + ssleep(1); > + spin_lock_irq(&q->queue_lock); > + } > + > /* all allocated, init in the same order */ > if (pol->pd_init_fn) > list_for_each_entry_reverse(blkg, &q->blkg_list, q_node) I don't see a reason why all pd's should be allocated, initialized and onlined together. The only ordering requirement is that parent blkgs to be initialized and onlined before children, which is guaranteed from the walking order. Let's fix the bug by allocating, initializing and onlining pd for each blkg and holding blkcg->lock over initialization and onlining. This ensures that an installed blkg is always fully initialized and onlined removing the the race window.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-12-30
Last Modified
2025-12-30
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-12-30
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2023-54271
EUVD
EUVD-2023-60370
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's blk-cgroup subsystem. It occurs because the blk-iocost policy data (blkg_policy_data) is installed before it is fully initialized. Specifically, blkcg_activate_policy() allocates policy data for all block cgroup groups (blkg) and installs them before initializing them, which can cause a race condition. If another function, ioc_weight_write(), runs concurrently and accesses uninitialized policy data, it can dereference a NULL pointer, leading to a kernel crash.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash due to a NULL pointer dereference. Such a crash can lead to system instability, denial of service, and potential data loss or corruption if the system becomes unresponsive or reboots unexpectedly.


How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?

This vulnerability can be detected by observing kernel crash logs indicating a NULL pointer dereference related to blk-iocost, specifically crashes showing messages like 'BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000e0' and call traces involving ioc_weight_write and blkcg_activate_policy. Additionally, the provided script can be used to reproduce the crash for detection purposes: #!/bin/bash echo +io > /sys/fs/cgroup/cgroup.subtree_control systemd-run --unit touch-sda --scope dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/null bs=1M count=1 iflag=direct echo 100 > /sys/fs/cgroup/system.slice/io.weight bash -c "echo '8:0 enable=1' > /sys/fs/cgroup/io.cost.qos" & sleep .2 echo 100 > /sys/fs/cgroup/system.slice/io.weight


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

The immediate mitigation is to apply the patch that fixes the race condition by allocating, initializing, and onlining pd for each blkg while holding the blkcg lock over initialization and onlining. This ensures that an installed blkg is always fully initialized and onlined, removing the race window that causes the NULL pointer dereference crash. Until the patch is applied, avoid workloads or scripts that trigger blk-iocost operations concurrently, such as the example script provided, to reduce the chance of triggering the crash.


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