CVE-2023-53148 igb: Fix igb_down hung on surprise removal
A local attacker can cause a system hang by physically removing a Thunderbolt hub, triggering a deadlock in the igb network driver.
- 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-2023-53148?
CVE-2023-53148 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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: Fix igb_down hung on surprise removal
In a setup where a Thunderbolt hub connects to Ethernet and a display through USB Type-C, users may experience a hung task timeout when they remove the cable between the PC and the Thunderbolt hub. This is because the igb_down function is called multiple times when the Thunderbolt hub is unplugged. For example, the igb_io_error_detected triggers the first call, and the igb_remove triggers the second call. The second call to igb_down will block at napi_synchronize. Here's the call trace: __schedule+0x3b0/0xddb ? __mod_timer+0x164/0x5d3 schedule+0x44/0xa8 schedule_timeout+0xb2/0x2a4 ? run_local_timers+0x4e/0x4e msleep+0x31/0x38 igb_down+0x12c/0x22a [igb 6615058754948bfde0bf01429257eb59f13030d4] __igb_close+0x6f/0x9c [igb 6615058754948bfde0bf01429257eb59f13030d4] igb_close+0x23/0x2b [igb 6615058754948bfde0bf01429257eb59f13030d4] __dev_close_many+0x95/0xec dev_close_many+0x6e/0x103 unregister_netdevice_many+0x105/0x5b1 unregister_netdevice_queue+0xc2/0x10d unregister_netdev+0x1c/0x23 igb_remove+0xa7/0x11c [igb 6615058754948bfde0bf01429257eb59f13030d4] pci_device_remove+0x3f/0x9c device_release_driver_internal+0xfe/0x1b4 pci_stop_bus_device+0x5b/0x7f pci_stop_bus_device+0x30/0x7f pci_stop_bus_device+0x30/0x7f pci_stop_and_remove_bus_device+0x12/0x19 pciehp_unconfigure_device+0x76/0xe9 pciehp_disable_slot+0x6e/0x131 pciehp_handle_presence_or_link_change+0x7a/0x3f7 pciehp_ist+0xbe/0x194 irq_thread_fn+0x22/0x4d ? irq_thread+0x1fd/0x1fd irq_thread+0x17b/0x1fd ? irq_forced_thread_fn+0x5f/0x5f kthread+0x142/0x153 ? __irq_get_irqchip_state+0x46/0x46 ? kthread_associate_blkcg+0x71/0x71 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30
In this case, igb_io_error_detected detaches the network interface and requests a PCIE slot reset, however, the PCIE reset callback is not being invoked and thus the Ethernet connection breaks down. As the PCIE error in this case is a non-fatal one, requesting a slot reset can be avoided. This patch fixes the task hung issue and preserves Ethernet connection by ignoring non-fatal PCIE errors.
Weakness: CWE-415
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53148?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53148?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-53148 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53148 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53148, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53148, GHSA-mxw3-r93h-fcv9, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53148.