Linux Kernel up to 6.1.45/6.4.10 net unbind dsa_tag_8021q_unregister assertion

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.45/6.4.10. Affected by this issue is the function dsa_tag_8021q_unregister of the file /sys/bus/pci/drivers/fsl_enetc/unbind of the component net. The manipulation leads to assertion. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2023-53855. There is no available exploit. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.45/6.4.10. This issue affects the function dsa_tag_8021q_unregister of the file /sys/bus/pci/drivers/fsl_enetc/unbind of the component net. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a assertion vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-617. The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: dsa: ocelot: call dsa_tag_8021q_unregister() under rtnl_lock() on driver remove When the tagging protocol in current use is "ocelot-8021q" and we unbind the driver, we see this splat: $ echo '0000:00:00.2' > /sys/bus/pci/drivers/fsl_enetc/unbind mscc_felix 0000:00:00.5 swp0: left promiscuous mode sja1105 spi2.0: Link is Down DSA: tree 1 torn down mscc_felix 0000:00:00.5 swp2: left promiscuous mode sja1105 spi2.2: Link is Down DSA: tree 3 torn down fsl_enetc 0000:00:00.2 eno2: left promiscuous mode mscc_felix 0000:00:00.5: Link is Down ------------[ cut here ]------------ RTNL: assertion failed at net/dsa/tag_8021q.c (409) WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 329 at net/dsa/tag_8021q.c:409 dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x12c/0x1a0 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 329 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.5.0-rc3+ #771 pc : dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x12c/0x1a0 lr : dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x12c/0x1a0 Call trace: dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x12c/0x1a0 felix_tag_8021q_teardown+0x130/0x150 felix_teardown+0x3c/0xd8 dsa_tree_teardown_switches+0xbc/0xe0 dsa_unregister_switch+0x168/0x260 felix_pci_remove+0x30/0x60 pci_device_remove+0x4c/0x100 device_release_driver_internal+0x188/0x288 device_links_unbind_consumers+0xfc/0x138 device_release_driver_internal+0xe0/0x288 device_driver_detach+0x24/0x38 unbind_store+0xd8/0x108 drv_attr_store+0x30/0x50 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- ------------[ cut here ]------------ RTNL: assertion failed at net/8021q/vlan_core.c (376) WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 329 at net/8021q/vlan_core.c:376 vlan_vid_del+0x1b8/0x1f0 CPU: 1 PID: 329 Comm: bash Tainted: G W 6.5.0-rc3+ #771 pc : vlan_vid_del+0x1b8/0x1f0 lr : vlan_vid_del+0x1b8/0x1f0 dsa_tag_8021q_unregister+0x8c/0x1a0 felix_tag_8021q_teardown+0x130/0x150 felix_teardown+0x3c/0xd8 dsa_tree_teardown_switches+0xbc/0xe0 dsa_unregister_switch+0x168/0x260 felix_pci_remove+0x30/0x60 pci_device_remove+0x4c/0x100 device_release_driver_internal+0x188/0x288 device_links_unbind_consumers+0xfc/0x138 device_release_driver_internal+0xe0/0x288 device_driver_detach+0x24/0x38 unbind_store+0xd8/0x108 drv_attr_store+0x30/0x50 DSA: tree 0 torn down This was somewhat not so easy to spot, because "ocelot-8021q" is not the default tagging protocol, and thus, not everyone who tests the unbinding path may have switched to it beforehand. The default felix_tag_npi_teardown() does not require rtnl_lock() to be held.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-53855 since 12/09/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 278341 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53855), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.46 or 6.4.11 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 758dbcfb257e1aee0a310bae789c2af6ffe35d0f/7ae8fa6b70975b6efbbef7912d09bff5a0bff491/a94c16a2fda010866b8858a386a8bfbeba4f72c5 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 databases at Tenable (278341) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2765). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.1.30
• 6.1.31
• 6.1.32
• 6.1.33
• 6.1.34
• 6.1.35
• 6.1.36
• 6.1.37
• 6.1.38
• 6.1.39
• 6.1.40
• 6.1.41
• 6.1.42
• 6.1.43
• 6.1.44
• 6.1.45
• 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
• 6.4.10

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

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