CVE-2023-53060 igb: revert rtnl_lock() that causes deadlock
A race condition in the igb network driver causes a deadlock during device removal, leading to a denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-53060?
CVE-2023-53060 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
igb: revert rtnl_lock() that causes deadlock
The commit 6faee3d4ee8b ("igb: Add lock to avoid data race") adds rtnl_lock to eliminate a false data race shown below
(FREE from device detaching) | (USE from netdev core) igb_remove | igb_ndo_get_vf_config igb_disable_sriov | vf >= adapter->vfs_allocated_count? kfree(adapter->vf_data) | adapter->vfs_allocated_count = 0 | | memcpy(... adapter->vf_data[vf]
The above race will never happen and the extra rtnl_lock causes deadlock below
[ 141.420169] <TASK> [ 141.420672] __schedule+0x2dd/0x840 [ 141.421427] schedule+0x50/0xc0 [ 141.422041] schedule_preempt_disabled+0x11/0x20 [ 141.422678] __mutex_lock.isra.13+0x431/0x6b0 [ 141.423324] unregister_netdev+0xe/0x20 [ 141.423578] igbvf_remove+0x45/0xe0 [igbvf] [ 141.423791] pci_device_remove+0x36/0xb0 [ 141.423990] device_release_driver_internal+0xc1/0x160 [ 141.424270] pci_stop_bus_device+0x6d/0x90 [ 141.424507] pci_stop_and_remove_bus_device+0xe/0x20 [ 141.424789] pci_iov_remove_virtfn+0xba/0x120 [ 141.425452] sriov_disable+0x2f/0xf0 [ 141.425679] igb_disable_sriov+0x4e/0x100 [igb] [ 141.426353] igb_remove+0xa0/0x130 [igb] [ 141.426599] pci_device_remove+0x36/0xb0 [ 141.426796] device_release_driver_internal+0xc1/0x160 [ 141.427060] driver_detach+0x44/0x90 [ 141.427253] bus_remove_driver+0x55/0xe0 [ 141.427477] pci_unregister_driver+0x2a/0xa0 [ 141.428296] __x64_sys_delete_module+0x141/0x2b0 [ 141.429126] ? mntput_no_expire+0x4a/0x240 [ 141.429363] ? syscall_trace_enter.isra.19+0x126/0x1a0 [ 141.429653] do_syscall_64+0x5b/0x80 [ 141.429847] ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x14d/0x1c0 [ 141.430109] ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x12/0x30 [ 141.430849] ? do_syscall_64+0x67/0x80 [ 141.431083] ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x183/0x1b0 [ 141.431770] ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x12/0x30 [ 141.432482] ? do_syscall_64+0x67/0x80 [ 141.432714] ? exc_page_fault+0x64/0x140 [ 141.432911] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc
Since the igb_disable_sriov() will call pci_disable_sriov() before releasing any resources, the netdev core will synchronize the cleanup to avoid any races. This patch removes the useless rtnl_(un)lock to guarantee correctness.
Weakness: CWE-667
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53060?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53060?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53060 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53060 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53060, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53060, GHSA-6f24-wm2q-5fj6, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53060.