Read the docs
TI-2023-29873 Aliases CVE-2023-53585GHSA-39wr-crm4-gxmv

bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign

Priority LOW 24Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 7 fixed, 3 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign The semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows: sk = some_lookup_func() bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk) bpf_sk_release(sk) That is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function therefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be consumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a TCPv4 packet is roughly: netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock __netif_receive_skb_core: sch_handle_ingress: tcf_classify: bpf_sk_assign() deliver_ptype_list_skb: deliver_skb: ip_packet_type->func == ip_rcv: ip_rcv_core: ip_rcv_finish_core: dst_input: ip_local_deliver: ip_local_deliver_finish: ip_protocol_deliver_rcu: tcp_v4_rcv: __inet_lookup_skb: skb_steal_sock The existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything happens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with SOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference. skb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put if necessary. This approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk between bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is violated by unhashed UDP sockets. A new UDP socket is created in TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only added in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound. When bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn't possible to access unhashed UDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn't a problem. This changed in commit 0c48eefae712 ("sock_map: Lift socket state restriction for datagram sockets"), but the helper wasn't adjusted accordingly. The following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount leak: 1. Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap. 2. Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount. 3. bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE. 4. skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to SOCK_RCU_FREE. 5. tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put(). Fix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign(). This matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately the goal of bpf_sk_assign().

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.0016 5th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53 +3Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 7 fixed, 3 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux5.7 and later5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3, 6.6Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3, 6.6 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*5.7 to before 5.10.195; 5.11 to before 5.15.132; 5.16 to before 6.1.53; 6.2 to before 6.4.16; 6.5 to before 6.5.3VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.7 to before 5.10.195; 5.11 to before 5.15.132; 5.16 to before 6.1.53; 6.2 to before 6.4.16; 6.5 to before 6.5.3 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3, 6.6

Red Hat 2 advisories

  • RHSA-2024:2394 Released 2024-04-30 · Red Hat rating Important
    kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +11
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.3.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +29
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, libperf-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +11
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.13.1.el9_4 +9
  • RHSA-2020:4431 Released 2020-11-04 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
    • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-240.el8
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-240.el8, kernel-4.18.0-240.el8, kernel-abi-whitelists-4.18.0-240.el8 +19

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2020:4431
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2024:2394
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2020:4431
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2024:2394
Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2024:2394
Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2024:2394
Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2024:2394
Not affected: 2 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53585
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-39wr-crm4-gxmv

References

  • 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
See all 15278 →

Sources