Linux Kernel Bobtail in Ice Driver Causing Resource Management Issue

CVE-2023-53657

What is CVE-2023-53657?

A vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel ice driver related to the management of switchdev resources. The issue arises when the function ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit is invoked prematurely, before the necessary resources are fully allocated. This can lead to a NULL pointer dereference, potentially resulting in system instability or crashes. The vulnerability has been patched by ensuring that a check is implemented to verify that switchdev configuration is complete before attempting to transmit data.

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