CVE-2023-53517

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation When doing link mtu negotiation, a malicious peer may send Activate msg with a very small mtu, e.g. 4 in Shuang's testing, without checking for the minimum mtu, l->mtu will be set to 4 in tipc_link_proto_rcv(), then n->links[bearer_id].mtu is set to 4294967228, which is a overflow of '4 - INT_H_SIZE - EMSG_OVERHEAD' in tipc_link_mss(). With tipc_link.mtu = 4, tipc_link_xmit() kept printing the warning: tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 5 0 40 4! tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 15 0 60 4! And with tipc_link_entry.mtu 4294967228, a huge skb was allocated in named_distribute(), and when purging it in tipc_link_xmit(), a crash was even caused: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x2100001011000dd: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.3.0.neta #19 RIP: 0010:kfree_skb_list_reason+0x7e/0x1f0 Call Trace: <IRQ> skb_release_data+0xf9/0x1d0 kfree_skb_reason+0x40/0x100 tipc_link_xmit+0x57a/0x740 [tipc] tipc_node_xmit+0x16c/0x5c0 [tipc] tipc_named_node_up+0x27f/0x2c0 [tipc] tipc_node_write_unlock+0x149/0x170 [tipc] tipc_rcv+0x608/0x740 [tipc] tipc_udp_recv+0xdc/0x1f0 [tipc] udp_queue_rcv_one_skb+0x33e/0x620 udp_unicast_rcv_skb.isra.72+0x75/0x90 __udp4_lib_rcv+0x56d/0xc20 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x100/0x2d0 This patch fixes it by checking the new mtu against tipc_bearer_min_mtu(), and not updating mtu if it is too small.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-10-01
Last modified 2026-04-06
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.1 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30, 6.3.4, 6.4 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.1
Fixed in
✓ 5.10.181 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.113 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.30 6.1.x ✓ 6.3.4 6.3.x ✓ 6.4

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53517 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

5 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2023-53517?

    CVE-2023-53517 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.1 onward and has been patched in 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30 and others. CVE-2023-53517 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53517?

    CVE-2023-53517 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53517?

    Yes — CVE-2023-53517 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.1 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2023-53517 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2023-53517 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

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