CVE-2024-53048 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel related to the handling of the DPLL (Digital Phase-Locked Loop) pins for Intel E810 LAN On Motherboard (LOM) network interface cards (NICs). The issue arises because the Linux kernel driver for the Intel E810 NIC assumes static values for the number of DPLL pins based on Intel's reference design. However, some vendors implement their own variations of the E810 LOM design, enabling more DPLL pins than the driver expects. This mismatch causes the ice driver to crash during the probe phase when initializing the NIC, as the driver attempts to access pins beyond its defined range. The crash manifests as a kernel warning and a call trace involving dpll_pin_get and related functions, ultimately leading to an invalid operation exception. The root cause is that the driver does not dynamically acquire pin configuration from the firmware, relying instead on static definitions that do not account for vendor-specific hardware variations. The fix implemented prevents the crash by allowing generic pin initialization within the Linux DPLL subsystem for these DPLL-enabled E810 LOM designs. A more robust, future solution is planned, which will dynamically acquire pin information from firmware on a per-hardware-design basis, but this is targeted for a future kernel release. Currently, the vulnerability leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition due to kernel crashes when the affected NIC is probed, impacting system stability and network availability.

For European organizations, this vulnerability primarily poses a risk of system instability and network outages on Linux systems using Intel E810 LOM NICs with vendor-specific DPLL configurations. Such NICs are commonly found in enterprise servers and data center hardware. A kernel crash during device initialization can cause system reboots or failures to bring up network interfaces, disrupting critical services and potentially leading to downtime. Organizations relying on Linux-based infrastructure for networking, cloud services, or telecommunications could experience degraded availability. While the vulnerability does not appear to allow privilege escalation or remote code execution, the denial of service impact on network hardware can affect operational continuity, especially in environments with high availability requirements. Since the issue is hardware and driver specific, the impact is limited to systems with affected NICs, but given the widespread use of Intel NICs in European data centers and enterprises, the scope is non-trivial. No known exploits are reported in the wild, reducing immediate risk, but unpatched systems remain vulnerable to crashes triggered by device probing or reinitialization events.

European organizations should prioritize updating their Linux kernel to versions that include the fix for CVE-2024-53048. Since the fix prevents the crash by allowing generic pin initialization, applying the patch or upgrading to a kernel version containing it is the most effective mitigation. In environments where immediate kernel updates are not feasible, administrators can consider temporarily disabling or avoiding the use of affected NICs or vendor-specific DPLL features until patched. Monitoring kernel logs for dpll_pin_get related warnings can help identify affected systems. Additionally, organizations should coordinate with hardware vendors to confirm if their E810 LOM NICs are impacted and request firmware updates or vendor-specific driver patches if available. For future-proofing, tracking the upcoming kernel improvements that dynamically acquire pin information from firmware will help ensure compatibility with vendor-specific hardware designs. Implementing robust system and network redundancy can also mitigate the impact of potential NIC-related crashes. Finally, thorough testing of kernel updates in staging environments is recommended to avoid unintended disruptions.