CVE-2023-53627
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's HiSilicon SAS controller driver (hisi_sas) where concurrent access to the sas_dev.list data structure can cause a NULL pointer dereference. This leads to a kernel panic and system crash, affecting systems using HiSilicon SAS storage controllers with vulnerable kernel versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with hisi_sas driver
📦 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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data corruption or loss if storage operations are interrupted.
Likely Case
System crash and denial of service when storage error handling occurs concurrently with normal slot completion operations.
If Mitigated
No impact if patched or if system doesn't use HiSilicon SAS controllers.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to trigger storage operations and error handling concurrently.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions with commits 6e2a40b3a332ea84079983be21c944de8ddbc4f3 and 71fb36b5ff113a7674710b9d6063241eada84ff7
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e2a40b3a332ea84079983be21c944de8ddbc4f3
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable HiSilicon SAS controller
linuxRemove or disable the vulnerable driver if HiSilicon SAS storage is not required.
modprobe -r hisi_sas_v3_hw
modprobe -r hisi_sas_main
echo 'blacklist hisi_sas_v3_hw' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
echo 'blacklist hisi_sas_main' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor systems for kernel panics related to hisi_sas driver and have recovery procedures ready.
- Implement redundancy for critical systems using HiSilicon SAS storage to minimize impact of potential crashes.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if system uses HiSilicon SAS controller: 'lspci | grep -i hisilicon' and check kernel version against patched versions.Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes fix commits: 'uname -r' and check git log for commits 6e2a40b3a332ea84079983be21c944de8ddbc4f3 and 71fb36b5ff113a7674710b9d6063241eada84ff7.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic messages mentioning hisi_sas_v3_hw
- NULL pointer dereference errors in kernel logs
- Storage error handling logs concurrent with driver operations
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local kernel vulnerability
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("hisi_sas" OR "NULL pointer dereference" OR "kernel panic")