CVE-2023-54166
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
igc: Fix Kernel Panic during ndo_tx_timeout callback
The Xeon validation group has been carrying out some loaded tests with various HW configurations, and they have seen some transmit queue time out happening during the test. This will cause the reset adapter function to be called by igc_tx_timeout(). Similar race conditions may arise when the interface is being brought down and up in igc_reinit_locked(), an interrupt being generated, and igc_clean_tx_irq() being called to complete the TX.
When the igc_tx_timeout() function is invoked, this patch will turn off all TX ring HW queues during igc_down() process. TX ring HW queues will be activated again during the igc_configure_tx_ring() process when performing the igc_up() procedure later.
This patch also moved existing igc_disable_tx_ring_hw() to avoid using forward declaration.
Kernel trace: [ 7678.747813] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 7678.757914] NETDEV WATCHDOG: enp1s0 (igc): transmit queue 2 timed out [ 7678.770117] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 13 at net/sched/sch_generic.c:525 dev_watchdog+0x1ae/0x1f0 [ 7678.784459] Modules linked in: xt_conntrack nft_chain_nat xt_MASQUERADE xt_addrtype nft_compat nf_tables nfnetlink br_netfilter bridge stp llc overlay dm_mod emrcha(PO) emriio(PO) rktpm(PO) cegbuf_mod(PO) patch_update(PO) se(PO) sgx_tgts(PO) mktme(PO) keylocker(PO) svtdx(PO) svfs_pci_hotplug(PO) vtd_mod(PO) davemem(PO) svmabort(PO) svindexio(PO) usbx2(PO) ehci_sched(PO) svheartbeat(PO) ioapic(PO) sv8259(PO) svintr(PO) lt(PO) pcierootport(PO) enginefw_mod(PO) ata(PO) smbus(PO) spiflash_cdf(PO) arden(PO) dsa_iax(PO) oobmsm_punit(PO) cpm(PO) svkdb(PO) ebg_pch(PO) pch(PO) sviotargets(PO) svbdf(PO) svmem(PO) svbios(PO) dram(PO) svtsc(PO) targets(PO) superio(PO) svkernel(PO) cswitch(PO) mcf(PO) pentiumIII_mod(PO) fs_svfs(PO) mdevdefdb(PO) svfs_os_services(O) ixgbe mdio mdio_devres libphy emeraldrapids_svdefs(PO) regsupport(O) libnvdimm nls_cp437 snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_codec_generic ledtrig_audio snd_hda_intel snd_intel_dspcfg snd_hda_codec snd_hwdep x86_pkg_temp_thermal snd_hda_core snd_pcm snd_timer isst_if_mbox_pci [ 7678.784496] input_leds isst_if_mmio sg snd isst_if_common soundcore wmi button sad9(O) drm fuse backlight configfs efivarfs ip_tables x_tables vmd sdhci led_class rtl8150 r8152 hid_generic pegasus mmc_block usbhid mmc_core hid megaraid_sas ixgb igb i2c_algo_bit ice i40e hpsa scsi_transport_sas e1000e e1000 e100 ax88179_178a usbnet xhci_pci sd_mod xhci_hcd t10_pi crc32c_intel crc64_rocksoft igc crc64 crc_t10dif usbcore crct10dif_generic ptp crct10dif_common usb_common pps_core [ 7679.200403] RIP: 0010:dev_watchdog+0x1ae/0x1f0 [ 7679.210201] Code: 28 e9 53 ff ff ff 4c 89 e7 c6 05 06 42 b9 00 01 e8 17 d1 fb ff 44 89 e9 4c 89 e6 48 c7 c7 40 ad fb 81 48 89 c2 e8 52 62 82 ff <0f> 0b e9 72 ff ff ff 65 8b 05 80 7d 7c 7e 89 c0 48 0f a3 05 0a c1 [ 7679.245438] RSP: 0018:ffa00000001f7d90 EFLAGS: 00010282 [ 7679.256021] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ff11000109938440 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 7679.268710] RDX: ff11000361e26cd8 RSI: ff11000361e1b880 RDI: ff11000361e1b880 [ 7679.281314] RBP: ffa00000001f7da8 R08: ff1100035f8fffe8 R09: 0000000000027ffb [ 7679.293840] R10: 0000000000001f0a R11: ff1100035f840000 R12: ff11000109938000 [ 7679.306276] R13: 0000000000000002 R14: dead000000000122 R15: ffa00000001f7e18 [ 7679.318648] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ff11000361e00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 7679.332064] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 7679.342757] CR2: 00007ffff7fca168 CR3: 000000013b08a006 CR4: 0000000000471ef8 [ 7679.354984] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 7679.367207] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 7679.379370] PKRU: 55555554 [ 7679.386446] Call Trace: [ 7679.393152] [ 7679.399363] ? __pfx_dev_watchdog+0x10/0x10 [ 7679.407870] call_timer_fn+0x31/0x110 [ 7679.415698] e ---truncated---
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
A race condition in the Linux kernel's igc driver between TX timeout and interface up/down operations can cause a kernel panic, fixed by disabling TX ring HW queues during reset.
Vulnerability
A race condition exists in the Linux kernel's igc driver for Intel Ethernet Controller I225/I226 devices. During loaded tests, transmit queue timeouts can trigger the ndo_tx_timeout callback, leading to a reset via igc_tx_timeout(). This reset path can race with interface bring-down and bring-up operations in igc_reinit_locked(), where interrupts are generated and the TX completion handler igc_clean_tx_irq() may run, resulting in a kernel panic [1].
Attack
Vector
An attacker on the same network, or a local user with sufficient privileges, could trigger a transmit queue timeout by saturating the link or causing transient errors. This would then race with an attempted interface reconfiguration (e.g., if the system administrator or network scripts bring the interface down and up), causing the kernel to crash. No authentication is required from the network side, but the attacker must be able to influence kernel behavior to induce the timeout window [1].
Impact
Successful exploitation results in a denial of service (kernel panic, system crash) on systems using the igc driver. The impact is limited to availability, and no privilege escalation or data leak has been reported. The fix reduces the race window by disabling all TX ring hardware queues during igc_down() and re-enabling them only during igc_configure_tx_ring() in igc_up(), ensuring the TX path is not active during resets [1].
Mitigation
The vulnerability is fixed in the Linux kernel by commit c12554d97fcd (backported to stable branches). Users should update to a kernel version containing this fix. No CVE severity score was provided in the official description, but the crash impact justifies patching as a priority, especially in production environments [1].
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
4feba294c454ac09df09241fdc12554d97fcdd4a7ce642100Vulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
4News mentions
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