CVE-2023-53611
Description
A memory leak flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IPMI System Interface driver in the initialization error path. A local user can trigger this issue by loading the ipmi_si module when initialization fails after allocating the si_sm structure but before registering the shutdown handler. This causes the allocated memory to never be freed, resulting in a permanent memory leak leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
Statement
The try_smi_init function performs IPMI interface initialization and allocates the new_smi->si_sm structure early in the process. If an error occurs after this allocation but before the shutdown_smi handler is registered, the error cleanup path returns without freeing si_sm because shutdown_smi is the normal mechanism for releasing this resource. Since initialization failures don't retry, each failed attempt permanently leaks 1024 bytes. While individual leaks are relatively small, repeated module load attempts (such as through automatic hardware detection or manual troubleshooting) can accumulate significant memory loss.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, prevent the ipmi_si module from being loaded. See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for instructions on blacklisting kernel modules.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
An attacker that can influence the allocation of resources that are not properly maintained could deplete the available resource pool and prevent all other processes from accessing the same type of resource.
Frequently Asked Questions
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