CVE-2023-54117

CVE-2023-54117 is a security vulnerability that is still awaiting full analysis and scoring. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/dcssblk: fix kernel crash with list_add corruption Commit fb08a1908cb1 ("dax: simplify the dax_device <-> gendisk association") introduced new logic for gendisk association, requiring drivers to explicitly call dax_add_host() and dax_remove_host(). For dcssblk driver, some dax_remove_host() calls were missing, e.g. in device remove path. The commit also broke error handling for out_dax case in device add path, resulting in an extra put_device() w/o the previous get_device() in that case. This lead to stale xarray entries after device add / remove cycles. In the case when a previously used struct gendisk pointer (xarray index) would be used again, because blk_alloc_disk() happened to return such a pointer, the xa_insert() in dax_add_host() would fail and go to out_dax, doing the extra put_device() in the error path. In combination with an already flawed error handling in dcssblk (device_register() cleanup), which needs to be addressed in a separate patch, this resulted in a missing device_del() / klist_del(), and eventually in the kernel crash with list_add corruption on a subsequent device_add() / klist_add(). Fix this by adding the missing dax_remove_host() calls, and also move the put_device() in the error path to restore the previous logic.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-54117?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/dcssblk: fix kernel crash with list_add corruption Commit fb08a1908cb1 ("dax: simplify the dax_device <-> gendisk association") introduced new logic for gendisk association, requiring drivers to explicitly call dax_add_host() and dax_remove_host(). For dcssblk driver, some dax_remove_host() calls were missing, e.g. in device remove path. The commit also broke error handling for out_dax case in device add path, resulting in an extra put_device() w/o the previous get_device() in that case. This lead to stale xarray entries after device add / remove cycles. In the case when a previously used struct gendisk pointer (xarray index) would be used again, because blk_alloc_disk() happened to return such a pointer, the xa_insert() in dax_add_host() would fail and go to out_dax, doing the extra put_device() in the error path. In combination with an already flawed error handling in dcssblk (device_register() cleanup), which needs to be addressed in a separate patch, this resulted in a missing device_del() / klist_del(), and eventually in the kernel crash with list_add corruption on a subsequent device_add() / klist_add(). Fix this by adding the missing dax_remove_host() calls, and also move the put_device() in the error path to restore the previous logic.
Is CVE-2023-54117 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (7th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2023-54117?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2023-54117 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2023-54117 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-60328.
When was CVE-2023-54117 published?
CVE-2023-54117 was published on 2025-12-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References