CVE-2023-52775·Kernel vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: avoid data corruption caused by decline We found a data corruption issue during testing of SMC-R on Redis applications. The benchmark has a low probability of reporting a strange error as shown below. "Error: Protocol error, got "\xe2" as reply type byte" Finally, we found that the retrieved error data was as follows: 0xE2 0xD4 0xC3 0xD9 0x04 0x00 0x2C 0x20 0xA6 0x56 0x00 0x16 0x3E 0x0C 0xCB 0x04 0x02 0x01 0x00 0x00 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0xE2 It is quite obvious that this is a SMC DECLINE message, which means that the applications received SMC protocol message. We found that this was caused by the following situations: client server ¦ clc proposal -------------> ¦ clc accept <------------- ¦ clc confirm -------------> wait llc confirm send llc confirm ¦failed llc confirm ¦ x------ (after 2s)timeout wait llc confirm rsp wait decline (after 1s) timeout (after 2s) timeout ¦ decline --------------> ¦ decline <-------------- As a result, a decline message was sent in the implementation, and this message was read from TCP by the already-fallback connection. This patch double the client timeout as 2x of the server value, With this simple change, the Decline messages should never cross or collide (during Confirm link timeout). This issue requires an immediate solution, since the protocol updates involve a more long-term solution.
- Severity
- high
- Software
- Kernel
- Fixed in
- 6.6.4
- Published
- 2024-05-21
Affected versions
From: 6.2
Until: 6.6.4
Fixed in: 6.6.4
How to fix this CVE
Update your Linux kernel to version 6.6.4 or later to resolve a critical SMC (Shared Memory Communications) protocol issue that causes data corruption when connection negotiation times misalign between client and server. This vulnerability affects systems using SMC-R for network communication, particularly in Redis and similar applications. Apply the kernel update immediately and reboot your system to activate the patched version.
sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo rebootDefensia detects this vulnerability
How to check if you are affected
- Check your current kernel version: uname -r
- Verify if SMC (CONFIG_SMC) is enabled: grep CONFIG_SMC /boot/config-$(uname -r)
- Review system logs for SMC protocol errors: journalctl -u kernel -g 'smc\|decline' | head -20
- Confirm the fix is applied by verifying kernel version is 6.6.4 or later: uname -r | grep -E '6\.[6-9]|[7-9]\.[0-9]'
- For SMC-specific validation, check dmesg for SMC connection timeouts: dmesg | grep -i 'smc.*timeout\|smc.*decline'
FAQ
What is CVE-2023-52775?
This vulnerability involves a timing race condition in Linux kernel's SMC protocol implementation where decline messages can be received as application data, causing protocol corruption. Applications receive raw SMC control frames instead of expected payload, manifesting as protocol errors in services like Redis.
Is CVE-2023-52775 being actively exploited?
No, this CVE is not listed on the CISA KEV catalog and has no known public exploits. However, it poses significant risk to production systems running SMC-R based workloads due to data corruption potential.
What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2023-52775?
Linux kernel versions 6.2 through 6.6.3 are vulnerable. The fix is included in kernel 6.6.4 and all subsequent releases.
How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2023-52775?
Run 'uname -r' to check your kernel version. If the output shows version 6.2 to 6.6.3 AND 'grep CONFIG_SMC /boot/config-$(uname -r)' returns 'CONFIG_SMC=y', your system is vulnerable.
Does Defensia detect CVE-2023-52775?
Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel package is installed on a monitored server within the vulnerable range, CVE-2023-52775 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.
Related Kernel CVEs
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ada292b5c504720a0acef8cae9acc62a694d19c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7234d2b5dffa5af77fd4e0deaebab509e130c6b1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90072af9efe8c7bd7d086709014ddd44cebd5e7c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94a0ae698b4d5d5bb598e23228002a1491c50add
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6d71b437abc2f249e3b6a1ae1a7228e09c6e563
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