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🛡️ CVE-2023-53426 — kernel

🟠 CVSS 7.8 — High ✅ No Known Exploit NVD
7.8
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

xsk: Fix xsk_diag use-after-free error during socket cleanup

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

xsk: Fix xsk_diag use-after-free error during socket cleanup

Fix a use-after-free error that is possible if the xsk_diag interface

is used after the socket has been unbound from the device. This can

happen either due to the socket being closed or the device

disappearing. In the early days of AF_XDP, the way we tested that a

socket was not bound to a device was to simply check if the netdevice

pointer in the xsk socket structure was NULL. Later, a better system

was introduced by having an explicit state variable in the xsk socket

struct. For example, the state of a socket that is on the way to being

closed and has been unbound from the device is XSK_UNBOUND.

The commit in the Fixes tag below deleted the old way of signalling

that a socket is unbound, setting dev to NULL. This in the belief that

all code using the old way had been exterminated. That was

unfortunately not true as the xsk diagnostics code was still using the

old way and thus does not work as intended when a socket is going

down. Fix this by introducing a test against the state variable. If

the socket is in the state XSK_UNBOUND, simply abort the diagnostic's

netlink operation.

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 high, integrity high, 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:H/I:H/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: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Integrity impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.

Affected software

CVE-2023-53426 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • kernel (from 5.18.0 up to 6.5.4)
  • linux-kernel (from 6.2 up to 6.5.4)

Timeline and source

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.

References

git.kernel.org (Web)
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-2023-53426 on other distributions

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

Details

Severity High
CVSS Score 7.8
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE N/A
Public Exploit ✅ No
Source NVD
Published 2025-09-18
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-08-12

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
kernel 5.18.0 6.5.4
linux-kernel 6.2 6.5.4

Similar Threats

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ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.

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