CVE-2023-54223 — net/mlx5e: xsk: Fix invalid buffer access for legacy rq
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: xsk: Fix invalid buffer access for legacy rq The below crash can be encountered when using xdpsock in rx mode for legacy rq: the buffer gets released in the XDP_REDIRECT path, and then once again in the driver. This fix sets the flag to avoid releasing on the driver side. XSK handling of buffers for legacy rq was relying on the caller to set the skip release flag. But the referenced fix started using fragment counts for pages instead of the skip flag. Crash log: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xffff8881217e3a: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 0 PID: 14 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Not tainted 6.5.0-rc1+ #31 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:bpf_prog_03b13f331978c78c+0xf/0x28 Code: ... RSP: 0018:ffff88810082fc98 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff888138404901 RCX: c0ffffc900027cbc RDX: ffffffffa000b514 RSI: 00ffff8881217e32 RDI: ffff888138404901 RBP: ffff88810082fc98 R08: 0000000000091100 R09: 0000000000000006 R10: 0000000000000800 R11: 0000000000000800 R12: ffffc9000027a000 R13: ffff8881217e2dc0 R14: ffff8881217e2910 R15: ffff8881217e2f00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88852c800000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000564cb2e2cde0 CR3: 000000010e603004 CR4: 0000000000370eb0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? die_addr+0x32/0x80 ? exc_general_protection+0x192/0x390 ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x22/0x30 ? 0xffffffffa000b514 ? bpf_prog_03b13f331978c78c+0xf/0x28 mlx5e_xdp_handle+0x48/0x670 [mlx5_core] ? dev_gro_receive+0x3b5/0x6e0 mlx5e_xsk_skb_from_cqe_linear+0x6e/0x90 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_handle_rx_cqe+0x55/0x100 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_poll_rx_cq+0x87/0x6e0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_napi_poll+0x45e/0x6b0 [mlx5_core] __napi_poll+0x25/0x1a0 net_rx_action+0x28a/0x300 __do_softirq+0xcd/0x279 ? sort_range+0x20/0x20 run_ksoftirqd+0x1a/0x20 smpboot_thread_fn+0xa2/0x130 kthread+0xc9/0xf0 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 </TASK> Modules linked in: mlx5_ib mlx5_core rpcrdma rdma_ucm ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_iscsi ib_umad rdma_cm ib_ipoib iw_cm ib_cm ib_uverbs ib_core xt_conntrack xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink xt_addrtype iptable_nat nf_nat br_netfilter overlay zram zsmalloc fuse [last unloaded: mlx5_core] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+6
- Technical severity (critical)+10
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | Critical | 3.9 | 5.9 | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | Critical | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | Critical | — | — | Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.45%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- SSVC assessment updated
- Affected products added · linux/linux
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 9.8
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× References added · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
4 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 13h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 13h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No CWE classification.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2023-54223 is "net/mlx5e: xsk: Fix invalid buffer access for legacy rq", rated Critical. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.45% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
Comments
Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.
No comments yet.
Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.