xfrm: add NULL check in xfrm_update_ae_params
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: add NULL check in xfrm_update_ae_params Normally, x->replay_esn and x->preplay_esn should be allocated at xfrm_alloc_replay_state_esn(...) in xfrm_state_construct(...), hence the xfrm_update_ae_params(...) is okay to update them. However, the current implementation of xfrm_new_ae(...) allows a malicious user to directly dereference a NULL pointer and crash the kernel like below. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PGD 8253067 P4D 8253067 PUD 8e0e067 PMD 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 0 PID: 98 Comm: poc.npd Not tainted 6.4.0-rc7-00072-gdad9774deaf1 #8 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.o4 RIP: 0010:memcpy_orig+0xad/0x140 Code: e8 4c 89 5f e0 48 8d 7f e0 73 d2 83 c2 20 48 29 d6 48 29 d7 83 fa 10 72 34 4c 8b 06 4c 8b 4e 08 c RSP: 0018:ffff888008f57658 EFLAGS: 00000202 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff888008bd0000 RCX: ffffffff8238e571 RDX: 0000000000000018 RSI: ffff888007f64844 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff888008f57818 R13: ffff888007f64aa4 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00000000014013c0(0000) GS:ffff88806d600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000000054d8000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x1f/0x70 ? page_fault_oops+0x1e8/0x500 ? __pfx_is_prefetch.constprop.0+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_page_fault_oops+0x10/0x10 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x11/0x40 ? fixup_exception+0x36/0x460 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x11/0x40 ? exc_page_fault+0x5e/0xc0 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 ? xfrm_update_ae_params+0xd1/0x260 ? memcpy_orig+0xad/0x140 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_bh+0x10/0x10 xfrm_update_ae_params+0xe7/0x260 xfrm_new_ae+0x298/0x4e0 ? __pfx_xfrm_new_ae+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_xfrm_new_ae+0x10/0x10 xfrm_user_rcv_msg+0x25a/0x410 ? __pfx_xfrm_user_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 ? __alloc_skb+0xcf/0x210 ? stack_trace_save+0x90/0xd0 ? filter_irq_stacks+0x1c/0x70 ? __stack_depot_save+0x39/0x4e0 ? __kasan_slab_free+0x10a/0x190 ? kmem_cache_free+0x9c/0x340 ? netlink_recvmsg+0x23c/0x660 ? sock_recvmsg+0xeb/0xf0 ? __sys_recvfrom+0x13c/0x1f0 ? __x64_sys_recvfrom+0x71/0x90 ? do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc ? copyout+0x3e/0x50 netlink_rcv_skb+0xd6/0x210 ? __pfx_xfrm_user_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_netlink_rcv_skb+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_sock_has_perm+0x10/0x10 ? mutex_lock+0x8d/0xe0 ? __pfx_mutex_lock+0x10/0x10 xfrm_netlink_rcv+0x44/0x50 netlink_unicast+0x36f/0x4c0 ? __pfx_netlink_unicast+0x10/0x10 ? netlink_recvmsg+0x500/0x660 netlink_sendmsg+0x3b7/0x700 This Null-ptr-deref bug is assigned CVE-2023-3772. And this commit adds additional NULL check in xfrm_update_ae_params to fix the NPD.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.39 and later | 4.14.324, 4.19.293, 5.4.255, 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47, 6.4.12, 6.5 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.39 and later Fixed in 4.14.324, 4.19.293, 5.4.255, 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47, 6.4.12, 6.5 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.39 to before 4.14.324; 4.15 to before 4.19.293; 4.20 to before 5.4.255; 5.5 to before 5.10.192; 5.11 to before 5.15.128; 5.16 to before 6.1.47; 6.2 to before 6.4.12 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.39 to before 4.14.324; 4.15 to before 4.19.293; 4.20 to before 5.4.255; 5.5 to before 5.10.192; 5.11 to before 5.15.128; 5.16 to before 6.1.47; 6.2 to before 6.4.12 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.14.324, 4.19.293, 5.4.255, 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47, 6.4.12, 6.5
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2024:0575 Released 2024-01-30 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security and bug fix update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.8) bpftool-4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-477.43.1.el8_8 +19
- RHSA-2023:7077 Released 2023-11-14 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9 +19
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:0575 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7077 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:0575 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53147
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x33g-396q-pw6p
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed1cba039309c80b49719fcff3e3d7cdddb73d96
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44f69c96f8a147413c23c68cda4d6fb5e23137cd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8046beb890ebc83c5820188c650073e1c6066e67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd30aa9c7febb6e709670cd5154194189ca3b7b5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/075448a2eb753f813fe873cfa52853e9fef8eedb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87b655f4936b6fc01f3658aa88a22c923b379ebd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/53df4be4f5221e90dc7aa9ce745a9a21bb7024f4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/00374d9b6d9f932802b55181be9831aa948e5b7c
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-53147 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53147 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x33g-396q-pw6p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53147 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences