CVE-2023-54257

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-12-30T13:16:14.443

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: macb: fix a memory corruption in extended buffer descriptor mode

For quite some time we were chasing a bug which looked like a sudden
permanent failure of networking and mmc on some of our devices.
The bug was very sensitive to any software changes and even more to
any kernel debug options.

Finally we got a setup where the problem was reproducible with
CONFIG_DMA_API_DEBUG=y and it revealed the issue with the rx dma:

[ 16.992082] ————[ cut here ]————
[ 16.996779] DMA-API: macb ff0b0000.ethernet: device driver tries to free DMA memory it has not allocated [device address=0x0000000875e3e244] [size=1536 bytes]
[ 17.011049] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 85 at kernel/dma/debug.c:1011 check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900
[ 17.018977] Modules linked in: xxxxx
[ 17.038823] CPU: 0 PID: 85 Comm: irq/55-8000f000 Not tainted 5.4.0 #28
[ 17.045345] Hardware name: xxxxx
[ 17.049528] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO)
[ 17.054322] pc : check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900
[ 17.058243] lr : check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900
[ 17.062163] sp : ffffffc010003c40
[ 17.065470] x29: ffffffc010003c40 x28: 000000004000c03c
[ 17.070783] x27: ffffffc010da7048 x26: ffffff8878e38800
[ 17.076095] x25: ffffff8879d22810 x24: ffffffc010003cc8
[ 17.081407] x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffffffc010a08750
[ 17.086719] x21: ffffff8878e3c7c0 x20: ffffffc010acb000
[ 17.092032] x19: 0000000875e3e244 x18: 0000000000000010
[ 17.097343] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000
[ 17.102647] x15: ffffff8879e4a988 x14: 0720072007200720
[ 17.107959] x13: 0720072007200720 x12: 0720072007200720
[ 17.113261] x11: 0720072007200720 x10: 0720072007200720
[ 17.118565] x9 : 0720072007200720 x8 : 000000000000022d
[ 17.123869] x7 : 0000000000000015 x6 : 0000000000000098
[ 17.129173] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000
[ 17.134475] x3 : 00000000ffffffff x2 : ffffffc010a1d370
[ 17.139778] x1 : b420c9d75d27bb00 x0 : 0000000000000000
[ 17.145082] Call trace:
[ 17.147524] check_unmap+0x6a0/0x900
[ 17.151091] debug_dma_unmap_page+0x88/0x90
[ 17.155266] gem_rx+0x114/0x2f0
[ 17.158396] macb_poll+0x58/0x100
[ 17.161705] net_rx_action+0x118/0x400
[ 17.165445] __do_softirq+0x138/0x36c
[ 17.169100] irq_exit+0x98/0xc0
[ 17.172234] __handle_domain_irq+0x64/0xc0
[ 17.176320] gic_handle_irq+0x5c/0xc0
[ 17.179974] el1_irq+0xb8/0x140
[ 17.183109] xiic_process+0x5c/0xe30
[ 17.186677] irq_thread_fn+0x28/0x90
[ 17.190244] irq_thread+0x208/0x2a0
[ 17.193724] kthread+0x130/0x140
[ 17.196945] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
[ 17.200510] —[ end trace 7240980785f81d6f ]—

[ 237.021490] ————[ cut here ]————
[ 237.026129] DMA-API: exceeded 7 overlapping mappings of cacheline 0x0000000021d79e7b
[ 237.033886] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 0 at kernel/dma/debug.c:499 add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240
[ 237.041802] Modules linked in: xxxxx
[ 237.061637] CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Tainted: G W 5.4.0 #28
[ 237.068941] Hardware name: xxxxx
[ 237.073116] pstate: 80000085 (Nzcv daIf -PAN -UAO)
[ 237.077900] pc : add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240
[ 237.081986] lr : add_dma_entry+0x214/0x240
[ 237.086072] sp : ffffffc010003c30
[ 237.089379] x29: ffffffc010003c30 x28: ffffff8878a0be00
[ 237.094683] x27: 0000000000000180 x26: ffffff8878e387c0
[ 237.099987] x25: 0000000000000002 x24: 0000000000000000
[ 237.105290] x23: 000000000000003b x22: ffffffc010a0fa00
[ 237.110594] x21: 0000000021d79e7b x20: ffffffc010abe600
[ 237.115897] x19: 00000000ffffffef x18: 0000000000000010
[ 237.121201] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000
[ 237.126504] x15: ffffffc010a0fdc8 x14: 0720072007200720
[ 237.131807] x13: 0720072007200720 x12: 0720072007200720
[ 237.137111] x11: 0720072007200720 x10: 0720072007200720
[ 237.142415] x9 : 0720072007200720 x8 : 0000000000000259
[ 237.147718] x7 : 0000000000000001 x6 : 0000000000000000
[ 237.15302
—truncated—

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No related CWE found.

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How to fix CVE-2023-54257

CVE-2023-54257 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: macb: fix a memory corruption in extended buffer descriptor mode For quite some time we were chasing a bug which looked like a sudden permanent failure of networking and mmc on some of our devices. The bug was very sensitive to any software changes […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Dec 30, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 30, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.