{ "dataType": "CVE_RECORD", "dataVersion": "5.2", "cveMetadata": { "cveId": "CVE-2023-54257", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "state": "PUBLISHED", "assignerShortName": "Linux", "dateReserved": "2025-12-30T12:06:44.516Z", "datePublished": "2025-12-30T12:15:52.186Z", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:18:30.100Z" }, "containers": { "cna": { "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T09:18:30.100Z" }, "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: macb: fix a memory corruption in extended buffer descriptor mode\n\nFor quite some time we were chasing a bug which looked like a sudden\npermanent failure of networking and mmc on some of our devices.\nThe bug was very sensitive to any software changes and even more to\nany kernel debug options.\n\nFinally we got a setup where the problem was reproducible with\nCONFIG_DMA_API_DEBUG=y and it revealed the issue with the rx dma:\n\n[ 16.992082] ------------[ cut here ]------------\n[ 16.996779] DMA-API: macb ff0b0000.ethernet: device driver tries to free DMA memory it has not allocated [device address=0x0000000875e3e244] [size=1536 bytes]\n[ 17.011049] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 85 at kernel/dma/debug.c:1011 check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900\n[ 17.018977] Modules linked in: xxxxx\n[ 17.038823] CPU: 0 PID: 85 Comm: irq/55-8000f000 Not tainted 5.4.0 #28\n[ 17.045345] Hardware name: xxxxx\n[ 17.049528] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO)\n[ 17.054322] pc : check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900\n[ 17.058243] lr : check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900\n[ 17.062163] sp : ffffffc010003c40\n[ 17.065470] x29: ffffffc010003c40 x28: 000000004000c03c\n[ 17.070783] x27: ffffffc010da7048 x26: ffffff8878e38800\n[ 17.076095] x25: ffffff8879d22810 x24: ffffffc010003cc8\n[ 17.081407] x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffffffc010a08750\n[ 17.086719] x21: ffffff8878e3c7c0 x20: ffffffc010acb000\n[ 17.092032] x19: 0000000875e3e244 x18: 0000000000000010\n[ 17.097343] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000\n[ 17.102647] x15: ffffff8879e4a988 x14: 0720072007200720\n[ 17.107959] x13: 0720072007200720 x12: 0720072007200720\n[ 17.113261] x11: 0720072007200720 x10: 0720072007200720\n[ 17.118565] x9 : 0720072007200720 x8 : 000000000000022d\n[ 17.123869] x7 : 0000000000000015 x6 : 0000000000000098\n[ 17.129173] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000\n[ 17.134475] x3 : 00000000ffffffff x2 : ffffffc010a1d370\n[ 17.139778] x1 : b420c9d75d27bb00 x0 : 0000000000000000\n[ 17.145082] Call trace:\n[ 17.147524] check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900\n[ 17.151091] debug_dma_unmap_page+0x88/0x90\n[ 17.155266] gem_rx+0x114/0x2f0\n[ 17.158396] macb_poll+0x58/0x100\n[ 17.161705] net_rx_action+0x118/0x400\n[ 17.165445] __do_softirq+0x138/0x36c\n[ 17.169100] irq_exit+0x98/0xc0\n[ 17.172234] __handle_domain_irq+0x64/0xc0\n[ 17.176320] gic_handle_irq+0x5c/0xc0\n[ 17.179974] el1_irq+0xb8/0x140\n[ 17.183109] xiic_process+0x5c/0xe30\n[ 17.186677] irq_thread_fn+0x28/0x90\n[ 17.190244] irq_thread+0x208/0x2a0\n[ 17.193724] kthread+0x130/0x140\n[ 17.196945] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n[ 17.200510] ---[ end trace 7240980785f81d6f ]---\n\n[ 237.021490] ------------[ cut here ]------------\n[ 237.026129] DMA-API: exceeded 7 overlapping mappings of cacheline 0x0000000021d79e7b\n[ 237.033886] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 0 at kernel/dma/debug.c:499 add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240\n[ 237.041802] Modules linked in: xxxxx\n[ 237.061637] CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Tainted: G W 5.4.0 #28\n[ 237.068941] Hardware name: xxxxx\n[ 237.073116] pstate: 80000085 (Nzcv daIf -PAN -UAO)\n[ 237.077900] pc : add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240\n[ 237.081986] lr : add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240\n[ 237.086072] sp : ffffffc010003c30\n[ 237.089379] x29: ffffffc010003c30 x28: ffffff8878a0be00\n[ 237.094683] x27: 0000000000000180 x26: ffffff8878e387c0\n[ 237.099987] x25: 0000000000000002 x24: 0000000000000000\n[ 237.105290] x23: 000000000000003b x22: ffffffc010a0fa00\n[ 237.110594] x21: 0000000021d79e7b x20: ffffffc010abe600\n[ 237.115897] x19: 00000000ffffffef x18: 0000000000000010\n[ 237.121201] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000\n[ 237.126504] x15: ffffffc010a0fdc8 x14: 0720072007200720\n[ 237.131807] x13: 0720072007200720 x12: 0720072007200720\n[ 237.137111] x11: 0720072007200720 x10: 0720072007200720\n[ 237.142415] x9 : 0720072007200720 x8 : 0000000000000259\n[ 237.147718] x7 : 0000000000000001 x6 : 0000000000000000\n[ 237.15302\n---truncated---" } ], "metrics": [ { "cvssV3_1": { "version": "3.1", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "baseScore": 9.8, "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL" }, "scenarios": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "AV:N - The corrupted address is produced by the hardware RX descriptor path and consumed in `gem_rx()`/NAPI on every timestamped frame reception, so the trigger is an arriving Ethernet packet. With `HWTSTAMP_FILTER_ALL` (TSTAMP_ALL_FRAMES) every received frame is timestamped, and even under the PTPv2 filter the MAC classifies routable unicast PTP-over-UDP (ports 319/320) at wire level without any listening socket, so a remote off-link attacker can drive the bug.\nAC:L - Within the affected configuration the hardware sets DMA_RXVALID deterministically on every timestamped descriptor, so each packet reliably produces the wrong unmap address — no race, no memory-layout dependency, infinitely repeatable. `CONFIG_MACB_USE_HWSTAMP` is `default y` and extended BD mode is enabled unconditionally on all GEM-with-TSU parts, and PTP timestamping is the headline feature of these industrial/telecom/automotive SoCs, so nothing exotic must be overcome.\nPR:N - The attacker only needs to place frames on the wire toward the device; no account, credential, or authentication of any kind exists on the path from packet arrival through the RX interrupt into `gem_rx()`. The one privileged action (SIOCSHWTSTAMP, `ns_capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN)`) is performed by the legitimate operator's PTP daemon, not by the attacker.\nUI:N - Descriptor processing happens autonomously in the NAPI softirq driven by the RX interrupt; no victim ever has to open, mount, or click anything.\nS:U - The faulty DMA bookkeeping and its consequences are confined to the kernel's own security authority; no hypervisor, guest, or sandbox boundary is crossed. Although the damage spreads to other devices' DMA (MMC), those all share the same kernel authority.\nC:H - The buffer's real mapping is never released and DMA ownership is never correctly handed back, so bounce-buffer copies run 4 bytes off (pulling adjacent bounce-pool bytes into the skb that `napi_gro_receive()` then delivers toward userspace) and an IOVA range can be freed while live and reissued to an unrelated mapping. This is maintainer-acked memory corruption leaking kernel-owned bytes into attacker-observable packet data.\nI:H - A DMA mapping left alive after the buffer is freed and reused lets the MAC write received data into memory the kernel has reassigned, and the shifted bounce copy / prematurely released IOVA modify memory outside the driver's ownership — the commit is titled \"fix a memory corruption\" and the observed blast radius reached the MMC controller's DMA.\nA:H - The reported real-world outcome is \"sudden permanent failure of networking and mmc\" on production devices — a persistent, system-wide loss of both network and storage requiring a reboot. It is additionally accompanied by DMA-API WARN splats (\"device driver tries to free DMA memory it has not allocated\", \"exceeded 7 overlapping mappings\"), which are fatal under `panic_on_warn`." } ] } ], "affected": [ { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "dd7a49a3eaf723a01b2fdf153f98450a82b0b0fe", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "82e626af24683e01211abe66cec27a387f8f17c9", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "7169d1638824c4bf7e0fe0baad381ddec861fa70", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "1bec9da233f779e7b6954ee07ad7e6d8f2a4dd83", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "7ccc58a1a75601c936069d4a0741940623990ade", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "9412a9bf5952cdf5d0f736cc1e8c68fd366c2d47", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "5dcf3a6843d0d7cc76960fbe8511d425f217744c", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "7b4296148066f19b5960127ba579e358df501c22", "lessThan": "e8b74453555872851bdd7ea43a7c0ec39659834f", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" } ] }, { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "drivers/net/ethernet/cadence/macb_main.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "4.13", "status": "affected" }, { "version": "0", "lessThan": "4.13", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "4.14.313", "lessThanOrEqual": "4.14.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "4.19.281", "lessThanOrEqual": "4.19.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "5.4.241", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.4.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "5.10.178", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "5.15.108", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.1.25", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.2.12", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.2.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.3", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix" } ] } ], "cpeApplicability": [ { "nodes": [ { "operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [ { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "4.14.313" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "4.19.281" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "5.4.241" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.178" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.108" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.25" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "6.2.12" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.13", "versionEndExcluding": "6.3" } ] } ] } ], "references": [ { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd7a49a3eaf723a01b2fdf153f98450a82b0b0fe" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82e626af24683e01211abe66cec27a387f8f17c9" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7169d1638824c4bf7e0fe0baad381ddec861fa70" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1bec9da233f779e7b6954ee07ad7e6d8f2a4dd83" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ccc58a1a75601c936069d4a0741940623990ade" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9412a9bf5952cdf5d0f736cc1e8c68fd366c2d47" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5dcf3a6843d0d7cc76960fbe8511d425f217744c" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e8b74453555872851bdd7ea43a7c0ec39659834f" } ], "title": "net: macb: fix a memory corruption in extended buffer descriptor mode", "x_generator": { "engine": "bippy-1.2.0" } } } }