Linux Kernel up to 6.4.9 devlink_free denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.9. This affects the function devlink_free. Executing a manipulation can lead to denial of service. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2023-53507. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.9. This vulnerability affects the function devlink_free. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Unregister devlink params in case interface is down Currently, in case an interface is down, mlx5 driver doesn't unregister its devlink params, which leads to this WARN[1]. Fix it by unregistering devlink params in that case as well. [1] [ 295.244769 ] WARNING: CPU: 15 PID: 1 at net/core/devlink.c:9042 devlink_free+0x174/0x1fc [ 295.488379 ] CPU: 15 PID: 1 Comm: shutdown Tainted: G S OE 5.15.0-1017.19.3.g0677e61-bluefield #g0677e61 [ 295.509330 ] Hardware name: https://www.mellanox.com BlueField SoC/BlueField SoC, BIOS 4.2.0.12761 Jun 6 2023 [ 295.543096 ] pc : devlink_free+0x174/0x1fc [ 295.551104 ] lr : mlx5_devlink_free+0x18/0x2c [mlx5_core] [ 295.561816 ] sp : ffff80000809b850 [ 295.711155 ] Call trace: [ 295.716030 ] devlink_free+0x174/0x1fc [ 295.723346 ] mlx5_devlink_free+0x18/0x2c [mlx5_core] [ 295.733351 ] mlx5_sf_dev_remove+0x98/0xb0 [mlx5_core] [ 295.743534 ] auxiliary_bus_remove+0x2c/0x50 [ 295.751893 ] __device_release_driver+0x19c/0x280 [ 295.761120 ] device_release_driver+0x34/0x50 [ 295.769649 ] bus_remove_device+0xdc/0x170 [ 295.777656 ] device_del+0x17c/0x3a4 [ 295.784620 ] mlx5_sf_dev_remove+0x28/0xf0 [mlx5_core] [ 295.794800 ] mlx5_sf_dev_table_destroy+0x98/0x110 [mlx5_core] [ 295.806375 ] mlx5_unload+0x34/0xd0 [mlx5_core] [ 295.815339 ] mlx5_unload_one+0x70/0xe4 [mlx5_core] [ 295.824998 ] shutdown+0xb0/0xd8 [mlx5_core] [ 295.833439 ] pci_device_shutdown+0x3c/0xa0 [ 295.841651 ] device_shutdown+0x170/0x340 [ 295.849486 ] __do_sys_reboot+0x1f4/0x2a0 [ 295.857322 ] __arm64_sys_reboot+0x2c/0x40 [ 295.865329 ] invoke_syscall+0x78/0x100 [ 295.872817 ] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x54/0x184 [ 295.882392 ] do_el0_svc+0x30/0xac [ 295.889008 ] el0_svc+0x48/0x160 [ 295.895278 ] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa4/0x130 [ 295.903807 ] el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8 [ 295.911120 ] ---[ end trace 4f1d2381d00d9dce ]---

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2023-53507 since 10/01/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 6.4.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 471f59b3455314f0cafacf3096453727876355a9/53d737dfd3d7b023fa9fa445ea3f3db0ac9da402 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2187). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.4.0
• 6.4.1
• 6.4.2
• 6.4.3
• 6.4.4
• 6.4.5
• 6.4.6
• 6.4.7
• 6.4.8
• 6.4.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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