nfsd: clean up potential nfsd_file refcount leaks in COPY codepath
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: clean up potential nfsd_file refcount leaks in COPY codepath There are two different flavors of the nfsd4_copy struct. One is embedded in the compound and is used directly in synchronous copies. The other is dynamically allocated, refcounted and tracked in the client struture. For the embedded one, the cleanup just involves releasing any nfsd_files held on its behalf. For the async one, the cleanup is a bit more involved, and we need to dequeue it from lists, unhash it, etc. There is at least one potential refcount leak in this code now. If the kthread_create call fails, then both the src and dst nfsd_files in the original nfsd4_copy object are leaked. The cleanup in this codepath is also sort of weird. In the async copy case, we'll have up to four nfsd_file references (src and dst for both flavors of copy structure). They are both put at the end of nfsd4_do_async_copy, even though the ones held on behalf of the embedded one outlive that structure. Change it so that we always clean up the nfsd_file refs held by the embedded copy structure before nfsd4_copy returns. Rework cleanup_async_copy to handle both inter and intra copies. Eliminate nfsd4_cleanup_intra_ssc since it now becomes a no-op.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 | 4.20 and later | 5.10.220, 5.15.154, 6.1.16, 6.2.3, 6.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.20 and later Fixed in 5.10.220, 5.15.154, 6.1.16, 6.2.3, 6.3 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.20 to before 5.10.220; 5.11 to before 5.15.154; 5.16 to before 6.1.16; 6.2 to before 6.2.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.20 to before 5.10.220; 5.11 to before 5.15.154; 5.16 to before 6.1.16; 6.2 to before 6.2.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.220, 5.15.154, 6.1.16, 6.2.3, 6.3
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:2458 Released 2023-05-09 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.0.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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 Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53606
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vqjq-cm24-xjp3
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd63299db8090307eae66f2aef17c8f00aafa0a9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3169b6ffe036b549c296a9e71591d29a1fb3209
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75b8c681c563ef7e85da6862354efc18d2a08b1b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f565846fbe8182961498d4cbe618b15076a683b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6ba434cb1a8d403ea9aad1b667c3ea3ad8b3191f
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Sources
- CVE-2023-53606 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53606 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vqjq-cm24-xjp3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53606 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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