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🛡️ CVE-2023-53190 — kernel

🟡 CVSS 5.5 — Medium ✅ No Known Exploit NVD
5.5
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

vxlan: Fix memory leaks in error path

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

vxlan: Fix memory leaks in error path

The memory allocated by vxlan_vnigroup_init() is not freed in the error

path, leading to memory leaks [1]. Fix by calling

vxlan_vnigroup_uninit() in the error path.

The leaks can be reproduced by annotating gro_cells_init() with

ALLOW_ERROR_INJECTION() and then running:

# echo "100" > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/probability

# echo "1" > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/times

# echo "gro_cells_init" > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/inject

# printf %#x -12 > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/gro_cells_init/retval

# ip link add name vxlan0 type vxlan dstport 4789 external vnifilter

RTNETLINK answers: Cannot allocate memory

[1]

unreferenced object 0xffff88810db84a00 (size 512):

comm "ip", pid 330, jiffies 4295010045 (age 66.016s)

hex dump (first 32 bytes):

f8 d5 76 0e 81 88 ff ff 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 ..v.............

03 00 04 00 48 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 04 00 01 00 ....H...........

backtrace:

[<ffffffff81a3097a>] kmalloc_trace+0x2a/0x60

[<ffffffff82f049fc>] vxlan_vnigroup_init+0x4c/0x160

[<ffffffff82ecd69e>] vxlan_init+0x1ae/0x280

[<ffffffff836858ca>] register_netdevice+0x57a/0x16d0

[<ffffffff82ef67b7>] __vxlan_dev_create+0x7c7/0xa50

[<ffffffff82ef6ce6>] vxlan_newlink+0xd6/0x130

[<ffffffff836d02ab>] __rtnl_newlink+0x112b/0x18a0

[<ffffffff836d0a8c>] rtnl_newlink+0x6c/0xa0

[<ffffffff836c0ddf>] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x43f/0xd40

[<ffffffff83908ce0>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x440

[<ffffffff839066af>] netlink_unicast+0x53f/0x810

[<ffffffff839072d8>] netlink_sendmsg+0x958/0xe70

[<ffffffff835c319f>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x78f/0xa90

[<ffffffff835cd6da>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x13a/0x1e0

[<ffffffff835cd94c>] __sys_sendmsg+0x11c/0x1f0

[<ffffffff8424da78>] do_syscall_64+0x38/0x80

unreferenced object 0xffff88810e76d5f8 (size 192):

comm "ip", pid 330, jiffies 4295010045 (age 66.016s)

hex dump (first 32 bytes):

04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 db e1 4f e7 00 00 00 00 ..........O.....

08 d6 76 0e 81 88 ff ff 08 d6 76 0e 81 88 ff ff ..v.......v.....

backtrace:

[<ffffffff81a3162e>] __kmalloc_node+0x4e/0x90

[<ffffffff81a0e166>] kvmalloc_node+0xa6/0x1f0

[<ffffffff8276e1a3>] bucket_table_alloc.isra.0+0x83/0x460

[<ffffffff8276f18b>] rhashtable_init+0x43b/0x7c0

[<ffffffff82f04a1c>] vxlan_vnigroup_init+0x6c/0x160

[<ffffffff82ecd69e>] vxlan_init+0x1ae/0x280

[<ffffffff836858ca>] register_netdevice+0x57a/0x16d0

[<ffffffff82ef67b7>] __vxlan_dev_create+0x7c7/0xa50

[<ffffffff82ef6ce6>] vxlan_newlink+0xd6/0x130

[<ffffffff836d02ab>] __rtnl_newlink+0x112b/0x18a0

[<ffffffff836d0a8c>] rtnl_newlink+0x6c/0xa0

[<ffffffff836c0ddf>] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x43f/0xd40

[<ffffffff83908ce0>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x440

[<ffffffff839066af>] netlink_unicast+0x53f/0x810

[<ffffffff839072d8>] netlink_sendmsg+0x958/0xe70

[<ffffffff835c319f>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x78f/0xa90

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability high.

CVSS metrics in full

The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

  • Attack vector: Local — a local account, shell or session on the host is needed.
  • Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
  • Privileges required: Low — an ordinary user account is enough.
  • User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
  • Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: None.
  • Integrity impact: None.
  • Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.

Affected software

CVE-2023-53190 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • kernel (from 6.1.0 up to 6.1.5)
  • linux-kernel

Timeline and source

Published on 15 September 2025 and last revised on 12 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.

References

git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)

Other advisories for this package

kernel has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:

CVE-2023-53190 on other distributions

Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:

Details

Severity Medium
CVSS Score 5.5
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CWE N/A
Public Exploit ✅ No
Source NVD
Published 2025-09-15
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-08-12

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
kernel 6.1.0 6.1.5
linux-kernel — —

Similar Threats

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