CVE-2023-54298

What it actually does

Dereference of an error pointer returned by alloc_soc_dts() instead of returning early, resulting in a kernel oops/crash.

Why it matters to the business

Unexpected kernel crashes on Linux systems using the Intel Quark DTS thermal driver can cause downtime and service disruption; low exploitability limits widespread impact despite high prevalence of Linux kernels.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access triggers the failure path in alloc_soc_dts() to force dereference of the error pointer and induce a kernel panic; no named threat actors or ransomware campaigns are associated.

How to fix it

Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 0b366c6a42e2e2bc67af8d1130b68f3bfa31c80e or later; apply the fix from the stable git tree immediately on affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the fix commit is present in the running kernel source tree and verify that allocation failure paths now return without dereferencing the error pointer.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local access on an affected Linux system
2. Trigger conditions causing alloc_soc_dts() to return an error pointer
3. Force the subsequent dereference of the error pointer value
4. Observe kernel oops and system crash

How to detect it

Inspect kernel logs and dmesg output for oops messages referencing quark_dts, soc_dts, or error pointer dereference in the thermal intel driver path.

• quark_dts
• alloc_soc_dts
• soc_dts
• Oops.*thermal.*intel.*quark_dts

What your security team should do

• Apply the kernel fix containing commit 0b366c6a42e2e2bc67af8d1130b68f3bfa31c80e without delay
• Monitor kernel logs for quark_dts related oops messages
• Prioritize patching on systems using Intel Quark hardware