CVE-2024-53138
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Mellanox mlx5 network driver. During kernel Transport Layer Security (kTLS) data transmission, an inconsistency in how memory page reference counters are tracked causes large memory structures to be dereferenced excessively when released. A local user could trigger this flaw to cause memory corruption, leading to a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS).
Mitigation
Disable TLS hardware transmit offload on affected Mellanox network interfaces, or prevent the mlx5_core kernel module from loading if Mellanox hardware is not needed.
1. To disable TLS hardware transmit offload on an active network interface:
# ethtool -K <interface_name> tls-hw-tx-offload offCaveat: Disabling hardware TLS offload shifts TLS encryption and framing processing to the CPU in software, which may increase CPU utilization.
2. Alternatively, if Mellanox ConnectX adapters are not required on the system, prevent the driver module from autoloading by configuring modprobe:
# echo "install mlx5_core /bin/true" > /etc/modprobe.d/disable-mlx5_core.confWarning: A system reboot or manual unloading of the module is required for module blacklisting to take effect. Blacklisting mlx5_core will disable all Mellanox network interfaces managed by this driver.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.4 | 5.5 | 9.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | Low | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | None | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | High |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Read Application Data; Modify Application Data; Read Files or Directories; Modify Files or Directories
An attacker could gain access to or modify sensitive data or system resources. This could allow access to protected files or directories including configuration files and files containing sensitive information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
