CVE-2023-53142 – A buffer overflow vulnerability in the Linux ke... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-53142?

CVE-2023-53142 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). A buffer overflow vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ice network driver allows reading incorrect data from SFP module EEPROMs. This affects systems using Intel Ethernet 800 Series network adapters with the vulnerable driver. The bug causes ethtool to return zeros instead of actual EEPROM data for certain read operations.

📋 TL;DR

A buffer overflow vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ice network driver allows reading incorrect data from SFP module EEPROMs. This affects systems using Intel Ethernet 800 Series network adapters with the vulnerable driver. The bug causes ethtool to return zeros instead of actual EEPROM data for certain read operations.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with Intel ice network driver

Versions: Linux kernel versions containing commit e9c9692c8a81 up to patched versions

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires Intel Ethernet 800 Series network adapters and use of ethtool or similar tools to read SFP module EEPROM data.

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Information disclosure of sensitive hardware data, potential denial of service if applications rely on accurate EEPROM data for functionality, or system instability from kernel memory corruption.

🟠

Likely Case

Incorrect hardware information returned to userspace tools like ethtool, potentially causing monitoring/management tools to malfunction or report inaccurate network hardware details.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor functionality issue where ethtool shows incorrect EEPROM values but system continues operating normally.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This requires local access or privileged network access to the affected system's management interface.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal attackers with local access could exploit this to gather hardware information or potentially cause system instability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires local access and ability to run ethtool or similar privileged commands. The vulnerability is primarily an information disclosure/functionality issue rather than a traditional security exploit.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Linux kernel with fixes from commits: 84cba1840e68430325ac133a11be06bfb2f7acd8, 8cfbdda65588e75bfbd93e5ee847efcb4796ad09, 90b40ab29298db3a4879c1d3c4e685184386bce6, c813f7a3161481483ae2077651b21bc217c419e0

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84cba1840e68430325ac133a11be06bfb2f7acd8

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify fix using ethtool commands shown in verification section.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable ethtool module reads

linux

Prevent users from reading SFP module EEPROM data via ethtool

chmod 700 /usr/sbin/ethtool
setcap -r /usr/sbin/ethtool

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local access to systems with vulnerable drivers
Monitor for unusual ethtool usage patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Run: ethtool -m [interface] offset 0x90 length 8. If output shows all zeros (00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00) instead of actual data, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Run same ethtool command after patching. Should show actual EEPROM data like: 00 00 01 a0 4d 65 6c 6c

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Audit logs showing ethtool execution with -m flag
Kernel logs showing ice driver errors

Network Indicators:

Unusual network monitoring traffic to affected interfaces

SIEM Query:

process.name="ethtool" AND command_line:"-m"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-53142

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-787

EPSS Score: 0.03% exploit probability (6.3th percentile)

Published: May 2, 2025

Last Updated: November 10, 2025

🔗 References

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