mm: kmem: fix a NULL pointer dereference in obj_stock_flush_required()
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm: kmem: fix a NULL pointer dereference in obj_stock_flush_required()
KCSAN found an issue in obj_stock_flush_required():
stock->cached_objcg can be reset between the check and dereference:
==================================================================
BUG: KCSAN: data-race in drain_all_stock / drain_obj_stock
write to 0xffff888237c2a2f8 of 8 bytes by task 19625 on cpu 0:
drain_obj_stock+0x408/0x4e0 mm/memcontrol.c:3306
refill_obj_stock+0x9c/0x1e0 mm/memcontrol.c:3340
obj_cgroup_uncharge+0xe/0x10 mm/memcontrol.c:3408
memcg_slab_free_hook mm/slab.h:587 [inline]
__cache_free mm/slab.c:3373 [inline]
__do_kmem_cache_free mm/slab.c:3577 [inline]
kmem_cache_free+0x105/0x280 mm/slab.c:3602
__d_free fs/dcache.c:298 [inline]
dentry_free fs/dcache.c:375 [inline]
__dentry_kill+0x422/0x4a0 fs/dcache.c:621
dentry_kill+0x8d/0x1e0
dput+0x118/0x1f0 fs/dcache.c:913
__fput+0x3bf/0x570 fs/file_table.c:329
____fput+0x15/0x20 fs/file_table.c:349
task_work_run+0x123/0x160 kernel/task_work.c:179
resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:49 [inline]
exit_to_user_mode_loop+0xcf/0xe0 kernel/entry/common.c:171
exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x6a/0xa0 kernel/entry/common.c:203
__syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work kernel/entry/common.c:285 [inline]
syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x26/0x140 kernel/entry/common.c:296
do_syscall_64+0x4d/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:86
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
read to 0xffff888237c2a2f8 of 8 bytes by task 19632 on cpu 1:
obj_stock_flush_required mm/memcontrol.c:3319 [inline]
drain_all_stock+0x174/0x2a0 mm/memcontrol.c:2361
try_charge_memcg+0x6d0/0xd10 mm/memcontrol.c:2703
try_charge mm/memcontrol.c:2837 [inline]
mem_cgroup_charge_skmem+0x51/0x140 mm/memcontrol.c:7290
sock_reserve_memory+0xb1/0x390 net/core/sock.c:1025
sk_setsockopt+0x800/0x1e70 net/core/sock.c:1525
udp_lib_setsockopt+0x99/0x6c0 net/ipv4/udp.c:2692
udp_setsockopt+0x73/0xa0 net/ipv4/udp.c:2817
sock_common_setsockopt+0x61/0x70 net/core/sock.c:3668
__sys_setsockopt+0x1c3/0x230 net/socket.c:2271
__do_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2282 [inline]
__se_sys_setsockopt net/socket.c:2279 [inline]
__x64_sys_setsockopt+0x66/0x80 net/socket.c:2279
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
value changed: 0xffff8881382d52c0 -> 0xffff888138893740
Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on:
CPU: 1 PID: 19632 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.3.0-rc2-syzkaller-00387-g534293368afa #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 03/02/2023
Fix it by using READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() for all accesses to
stock->cached_objcg.
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is high, 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.
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2023-53401 is recorded against 2 packages.
Published on 18 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.
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)
kernel has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| kernel | 6.2.0 | 6.4.10 |
| linux-kernel | 6.2 | 6.4.10 |
References
Similar Threats
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