CVE-2023-53999: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: TC, Fix internal port memory leak The flow rule can be splited, and t...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: TC, Fix internal port memory leak The flow rule can be splited, and the extra post_act rules are added to post_act table. It's possible to trigger memleak when the rule forwards packets from internal port and over tunnel, in the case that, for example, CT 'new' state offload is allowed. As int_port object is assigned to the flow attribute of post_act rule, and its refcnt is incremented by mlx5e_tc_int_port_get(), but mlx5e_tc_int_port_put() is not called, the refcnt is never decremented, then int_port is never freed. The kmemleak reports the following error: unreferenced object 0xffff888128204b80 (size 64): comm "handler20", pid 50121, jiffies 4296973009 (age 642.932s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 01 00 00 00 19 00 00 00 03 f0 00 00 04 00 00 00 ................ 98 77 67 41 81 88 ff ff 98 77 67 41 81 88 ff ff .wgA.....wgA.... backtrace: [<00000000e992680d>] kmalloc_trace+0x27/0x120 [<000000009e945a98>] mlx5e_tc_int_port_get+0x3f3/0xe20 [mlx5_core] [<0000000035a537f0>] mlx5e_tc_add_fdb_flow+0x473/0xcf0 [mlx5_core] [<0000000070c2cec6>] __mlx5e_add_fdb_flow+0x7cf/0xe90 [mlx5_core] [<000000005cc84048>] mlx5e_configure_flower+0xd40/0x4c40 [mlx5_core] [<000000004f8a2031>] mlx5e_rep_indr_offload.isra.0+0x10e/0x1c0 [mlx5_core] [<000000007df797dc>] mlx5e_rep_indr_setup_tc_cb+0x90/0x130 [mlx5_core] [<0000000016c15cc3>] tc_setup_cb_add+0x1cf/0x410 [<00000000a63305b4>] fl_hw_replace_filter+0x38f/0x670 [cls_flower] [<000000008bc9e77c>] fl_change+0x1fd5/0x4430 [cls_flower] [<00000000e7f766e4>] tc_new_tfilter+0x867/0x2010 [<00000000e101c0ef>] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x6fc/0x9f0 [<00000000e1111d44>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x12c/0x360 [<0000000082dd6c8b>] netlink_unicast+0x438/0x710 [<00000000fc568f70>] netlink_sendmsg+0x794/0xc50 [<0000000016e92590>] sock_sendmsg+0xc5/0x190 So fix this by moving int_port cleanup code to the flow attribute free helper, which is used by all the attribute free cases.

Metrics

EPSS Probability

0.16%

5.5th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

References

Timeline

Published: Dec 24, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53999?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: TC, Fix internal port memory leak The flow rule can be splited, and the extra post_act rules are added to post_act table. It's possible to trigger memleak when the rule forwards packets from internal port and over tunnel, in the case that, for example, CT 'new' state offload is allowed. As int_port object is assigned to the flow attribute of post_act rule, and its refcnt is incremented by mlx5e_tc_int_port_get(), but mlx5e_tc_int_port_put() is not called, the refcnt is never decremented, then int_port is never freed. The kmemleak reports the following error: unreferenced object 0xffff888128204b80 (size 64): comm "handler20", pid 50121, jiffies 4296973009 (age 642.932s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 01 00 00 00 19 00 00 00 03 f0 00 00 04 00 00 00 ................ 98 77 67 41 81 88 ff ff 98 77 67 41 81 88 ff ff .wgA.....wgA.... backtrace: [<00000000e992680d>] kmalloc_trace+0x27/0x120 [<000000009e945a98>] mlx5e_tc_int_port_get+0x3f3/0xe20 [mlx5_core] [<0000000035a537f0>] mlx5e_tc_add_fdb_flow+0x473/0xcf0 [mlx5_core] [<0000000070c2cec6>] __mlx5e_add_fdb_flow+0x7cf/0xe90 [mlx5_core] [<000000005cc84048>] mlx5e_configure_flower+0xd40/0x4c40 [mlx5_core] [<000000004f8a2031>] mlx5e_rep_indr_offload.isra.0+0x10e/0x1c0 [mlx5_core] [<000000007df797dc>] mlx5e_rep_indr_setup_tc_cb+0x90/0x130 [mlx5_core] [<0000000016c15cc3>] tc_setup_cb_add+0x1cf/0x410 [<00000000a63305b4>] fl_hw_replace_filter+0x38f/0x670 [cls_flower] [<000000008bc9e77c>] fl_change+0x1fd5/0x4430 [cls_flower] [<00000000e7f766e4>] tc_new_tfilter+0x867/0x2010 [<00000000e101c0ef>] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x6fc/0x9f0 [<00000000e1111d44>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x12c/0x360 [<0000000082dd6c8b>] netlink_unicast+0x438/0x710 [<00000000fc568f70>] netlink_sendmsg+0x794/0xc50 [<0000000016e92590>] sock_sendmsg+0xc5/0x190 So fix this by moving int_port cleanup code to the flow attribute free helper, which is used by all the attribute free cases.

How severe is CVE-2023-53999?

Severity scoring for CVE-2023-53999 is pending analysis. The EPSS model estimates a 0.16% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53999?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.