Security assessments indicate that CVE-2023-52998 presents a notable risk, potentially requiring prompt mitigation.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕞 29 Oct 2025, 15:39 UTC
Originally published on: 🕔 27 Mar 2025, 17:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 215 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2023-52998: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: fec: Use page_pool_put_full_page when freeing rx buffers The page_pool_release_page was used when freeing rx buffers, and this function just unmaps the page (if mapped) and does not recycle the page. So after hundreds of down/up the eth0, the system will out of memory. For more details, please refer to the following reproduce steps and bug logs. To solve this issue and refer to the doc of page pool, the page_pool_put_full_page should be used to replace page_pool_release_page. Because this API will try to recycle the page if the page refcnt equal to 1. After testing 20000 times, the issue can not be reproduced anymore (about testing 391 times the issue will occur on i.MX8MN-EVK before). Reproduce steps: Create the test script and run the script. The script content is as follows: LOOPS=20000 i=1 while [ $i -le $LOOPS ] do echo "TINFO:ENET $curface up and down test $i times" org_macaddr=$(cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address) ifconfig eth0 down ifconfig eth0 hw ether $org_macaddr up i=$(expr $i + 1) done sleep 5 if cat /sys/class/net/eth0/operstate | grep 'up';then echo "TEST PASS" else echo "TEST FAIL" fi Bug detail logs: TINFO:ENET up and down test 391 times [ 850.471205] Qualcomm Atheros AR8031/AR8033 30be0000.ethernet-1:00: attached PHY driver (mii_bus:phy_addr=30be0000.ethernet-1:00, irq=POLL) [ 853.535318] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready [ 853.541694] fec 30be0000.ethernet eth0: Link is Up - 1Gbps/Full - flow control rx/tx [ 870.590531] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 199 inflight 60 sec [ 931.006557] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 199 inflight 120 sec TINFO:ENET up and down test 392 times [ 991.426544] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 192 inflight 181 sec [ 1051.838531] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 170 inflight 241 sec [ 1093.751217] Qualcomm Atheros AR8031/AR8033 30be0000.ethernet-1:00: attached PHY driver (mii_bus:phy_addr=30be0000.ethernet-1:00, irq=POLL) [ 1096.446520] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 60 sec [ 1096.831245] fec 30be0000.ethernet eth0: Link is Up - 1Gbps/Full - flow control rx/tx [ 1096.839092] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready [ 1112.254526] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 103 inflight 302 sec [ 1156.862533] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 120 sec [ 1172.674516] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 103 inflight 362 sec [ 1217.278532] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 181 sec TINFO:ENET up and down test 393 times [ 1233.086535] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 103 inflight 422 sec [ 1277.698513] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 241 sec [ 1293.502525] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 86 inflight 483 sec [ 1338.110518] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 302 sec [ 1353.918540] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 32 inflight 543 sec [ 1361.179205] Qualcomm Atheros AR8031/AR8033 30be0000.ethernet-1:00: attached PHY driver (mii_bus:phy_addr=30be0000.ethernet-1:00, irq=POLL) [ 1364.255298] fec 30be0000.ethernet eth0: Link is Up - 1Gbps/Full - flow control rx/tx [ 1364.263189] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth0: link becomes ready [ 1371.998532] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 310 inflight 60 sec [ 1398.530542] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 362 sec [ 1414.334539] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 16 inflight 604 sec [ 1432.414520] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 310 inflight 120 sec [ 1458.942523] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 308 inflight 422 sec [ 1474.750521] page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown 16 inflight 664 sec TINFO:ENET up and down test 394 times [ 1492.8305 ---truncated---
The exploitability of CVE-2023-52998 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2023-52998 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2023-52998, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2023-52998, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
NVD-CWE-noinfo
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