CVE-2023-54012
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: fix stack overflow when LRO is disabled for virtual interfaces
When the virtual interface's feature is updated, it synchronizes the updated feature for its own lower interface. This propagation logic should be worked as the iteration, not recursively. But it works recursively due to the netdev notification unexpectedly. This problem occurs when it disables LRO only for the team and bonding interface type.
team0 | +------+------+-----+-----+ | | | | | team1 team2 team3 ... team200
If team0's LRO feature is updated, it generates the NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE event to its own lower interfaces(team1 ~ team200). It is worked by netdev_sync_lower_features(). So, the NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE notification logic of each lower interface work iteratively. But generated NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE event is also sent to the upper interface too. upper interface(team0) generates the NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE event for its own lower interfaces again. lower and upper interfaces receive this event and generate this event again and again. So, the stack overflow occurs.
But it is not the infinite loop issue. Because the netdev_sync_lower_features() updates features before generating the NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE event. Already synchronized lower interfaces skip notification logic. So, it is just the problem that iteration logic is changed to the recursive unexpectedly due to the notification mechanism.
Reproducer:
ip link add team0 type team ethtool -K team0 lro on for i in {1..200} do ip link add team$i master team0 type team ethtool -K team$i lro on done
ethtool -K team0 lro off
In order to fix it, the notifier_ctx member of bonding/team is introduced.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Stack overflow in Linux kernel when disabling LRO on team/bonding virtual interfaces due to recursive feature change notification.
Vulnerability
A stack overflow vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel when LRO (Large Receive Offload) is disabled on team or bonding virtual interfaces. The root cause is that the feature synchronization logic, intended to propagate feature changes iteratively to lower interfaces, instead triggers recursive NETDEV_FEAT_CHANGE events. This occurs because the notification sent to lower interfaces is also received by the upper interface, causing repeated propagation until the stack overflows [1][2].
Exploitation
To trigger the vulnerability, an attacker with the ability to create and configure network interfaces (e.g., via netlink) can set up a team or bonding device with many slave interfaces (up to 200 as shown in the reproducer). By first enabling LRO on all interfaces and then disabling LRO on the master device, the recursive notification cascade is initiated, leading to a stack overflow. No special privileges beyond CAP_NET_ADMIN are required.
Impact
Successful exploitation causes a kernel stack overflow, resulting in a system crash (denial of service). There is no indication of further memory corruption or privilege escalation.
Mitigation
The vulnerability is fixed in Linux kernel stable releases that include commits introducing a notifier_ctx member for bonding/team interfaces, which prevents the recursive propagation [1][2]. Users should apply the latest stable kernel updates or ensure that LRO is not toggled on such virtual interfaces if patching is not immediately possible.
AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
1Patches
69ea0c5f90a274bb955c4d283cf3b5cd7127ced66e6327a696bf00bb3dc7eae9b15fbe634Vulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
6- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4bb955c4d2830a58c08e2a48ab75d75368e3ff36nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bf00bb3dc7e5b9fb05488e11616e65d64e975fanvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ea0c5f90a27b5b884d880e146e0f65f3052e401nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae9b15fbe63447bc1d3bba3769f409d17ca6fdf6nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/cf3b5cd7127cc10c5b12400c545f263f0e5e715cnvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed66e6327a69fec95034cda2ac5b6a57b8b3b622nvd
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