CVE-2023-54238: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mlx5: fix skb leak while fifo resync and push During ptp resync operation SKBs w...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mlx5: fix skb leak while fifo resync and push During ptp resync operation SKBs were poped from the fifo but were never freed neither by napi_consume nor by dev_kfree_skb_any. Add call to napi_consume_skb to properly free SKBs. Another leak was happening because mlx5e_skb_fifo_has_room() had an error in the check. Comparing free running counters works well unless C promotes the types to something wider than the counter. In this case counters are u16 but the result of the substraction is promouted to int and it causes wrong result (negative value) of the check when producer have already overlapped but consumer haven't yet. Explicit cast to u16 fixes the issue.

Metrics

EPSS Probability

0.17%

6.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

References

Timeline

Published: Dec 30, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-54238?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mlx5: fix skb leak while fifo resync and push During ptp resync operation SKBs were poped from the fifo but were never freed neither by napi_consume nor by dev_kfree_skb_any. Add call to napi_consume_skb to properly free SKBs. Another leak was happening because mlx5e_skb_fifo_has_room() had an error in the check. Comparing free running counters works well unless C promotes the types to something wider than the counter. In this case counters are u16 but the result of the substraction is promouted to int and it causes wrong result (negative value) of the check when producer have already overlapped but consumer haven't yet. Explicit cast to u16 fixes the issue.

How severe is CVE-2023-54238?

Severity scoring for CVE-2023-54238 is pending analysis. The EPSS model estimates a 0.17% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-54238?

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.