# 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.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53148, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53148, GHSA-mxw3-r93h-fcv9, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53148

## 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 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53148?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53148?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## 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

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53148 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53148 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53148/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53148/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53148
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53148
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53148

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53148/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.