LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-54184: scsi: target: iscsit: Free cmds before session free

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: target: iscsit: Free cmds before session free Commands from recovery entries are freed after session has been closed. That leads to use-after-free at command free or NPE with such call trace: Time2Retain timer expired for SID: 1, cleaning up iSCSI session. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000140 RIP: 0010:sbitmap_queue_clear+0x3a/0xa0 Call Trace: target_release_cmd_kref+0xd1/0x1f0 [target_core_mod] transport_generic_free_cmd+0xd1/0x180 [target_core_mod] iscsit_free_cmd+0x53/0xd0 [iscsi_target_mod] iscsit_free_connection_recovery_entries+0x29d/0x320 [iscsi_target_mod] iscsit_close_session+0x13a/0x140 [iscsi_target_mod] iscsit_check_post_dataout+0x440/0x440 [iscsi_target_mod] call_timer_fn+0x24/0x140 Move cleanup of recovery enrties to before session freeing.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue affects the iSCSI target subsystem. During session cleanup, commands from recovery entries could be freed after the session was already closed, causing a kernel use-after-free or null pointer crash. The supplied sources do not provide CVSS, confirmed exploitation, or business-impact scoring.

Executive priority

Do not treat this as internet-wide emergency from the supplied evidence. Treat it as a focused kernel patching priority for storage servers or appliances using Linux iSCSI target services, especially where reachable beyond trusted storage networks.

Technical view

CVE-2023-54184 is a lifetime-ordering bug in Linux iscsi_target_mod. Time2Retain session cleanup could call iscsit_free_connection_recovery_entries after session free, reaching target command cleanup against invalid state. The kernel fix moves recovery-entry cleanup before session freeing.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running the kernel iSCSI target service or loading iscsi_target_mod. General Linux hosts without iSCSI target functionality appear less likely exposed, but the source bundle does not provide distribution-specific package mapping.

Exploitation context

The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The described outcome is a kernel null pointer dereference or use-after-free during iSCSI session cleanup, which may affect availability and possibly kernel memory safety.

Researcher notes

The record lacks CVSS, CWE, exploit status, and distribution package details. The strongest evidence is the kernel commit description and stable fix references. Validation should focus on module/service presence, kernel lineage, and vendor backport status rather than raw upstream version strings alone.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor kernel updates that include the referenced stable fixes.
  • Prioritize systems exposing Linux iSCSI target services to networks.
  • If patching is delayed, review vendor guidance for service-level mitigations.
  • Restrict iSCSI target access to trusted management or storage networks.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory hosts running Linux iSCSI target functionality or iscsi_target_mod.
  • Compare running kernel versions against vendor advisories and fixed stable commits.
  • Check whether iSCSI target ports are reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review kernel logs for crashes matching iscsi_target_mod cleanup traces.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-54184 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953, 988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953, 988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953, 988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953, 988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953, 988e3a85463d9b6dabc681df3f8f131b23c19953unaffected
LinuxLinux3.12, 0, 5.4.244, 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30, 6.3.4, 6.4affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.