CVE-2023-53752
net: deal with integer overflows in kmalloc_reserve()
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: deal with integer overflows in kmalloc_reserve() Blamed commit changed: ptr = kmalloc(size); if (ptr) size = ksize(ptr); size = kmalloc_size_roundup(size); ptr = kmalloc(size); This allowed various crash as reported by syzbot [1] and Kyle Zeng. Problem is that if @size is bigger than 0x80000001, kmalloc_size_roundup(size) returns 2^32. kmalloc_reserve() uses a 32bit variable (obj_size), so 2^32 is truncated to 0. kmalloc(0) returns ZERO_SIZE_PTR which is not handled by skb allocations. Following trace can be triggered if a netdev->mtu is set close to 0x7fffffff We might in the future limit netdev->mtu to more sensible limit (like KMALLOC_MAX_SIZE). This patch is based on a syzbot report, and also a report and tentative fix from Kyle Zeng. [1] BUG: KASAN: user-memory-access in __build_skb_around net/core/skbuff.c:294 [inline] BUG: KASAN: user-memory-access in __alloc_skb+0x3c4/0x6e8 net/core/skbuff.c:527 Write of size 32 at addr 00000000fffffd10 by task syz-executor.4/22554 CPU: 1 PID: 22554 Comm: syz-executor.4 Not tainted 6.1.39-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/03/2023 Call trace: dump_backtrace+0x1c8/0x1f4 arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:279 show_stack+0x2c/0x3c arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:286 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x120/0x1a0 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_report+0xe4/0x4b4 mm/kasan/report.c:398 kasan_report+0x150/0x1ac mm/kasan/report.c:495 kasan_check_range+0x264/0x2a4 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 memset+0x40/0x70 mm/kasan/shadow.c:44 __build_skb_around net/core/skbuff.c:294 [inline] __alloc_skb+0x3c4/0x6e8 net/core/skbuff.c:527 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1316 [inline] igmpv3_newpack+0x104/0x1088 net/ipv4/igmp.c:359 add_grec+0x81c/0x1124 net/ipv4/igmp.c:534 igmpv3_send_cr net/ipv4/igmp.c:667 [inline] igmp_ifc_timer_expire+0x1b0/0x1008 net/ipv4/igmp.c:810 call_timer_fn+0x1c0/0x9f0 kernel/time/timer.c:1474 expire_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1519 [inline] __run_timers+0x54c/0x710 kernel/time/timer.c:1790 run_timer_softirq+0x28/0x4c kernel/time/timer.c:1803 _stext+0x380/0xfbc ____do_softirq+0x14/0x20 arch/arm64/kernel/irq.c:79 call_on_irq_stack+0x24/0x4c arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:891 do_softirq_own_stack+0x20/0x2c arch/arm64/kernel/irq.c:84 invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:437 [inline] __irq_exit_rcu+0x1c0/0x4cc kernel/softirq.c:683 irq_exit_rcu+0x14/0x78 kernel/softirq.c:695 el0_interrupt+0x7c/0x2e0 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:717 __el0_irq_handler_common+0x18/0x24 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:724 el0t_64_irq_handler+0x10/0x1c arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:729 el0t_64_irq+0x1a0/0x1a4 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:584
INFO
Published Date :
Dec. 8, 2025, 2:15 a.m.
Last Modified :
Dec. 8, 2025, 6:26 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to a patched version.
- Apply the provided fix for kmalloc_reserve.
- Limit network device MTU to sensible values.
- Rebuild the kernel after applying the patch.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2023-53752.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2023-53752 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2023-53752
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2023-53752 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2023-53752 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Dec. 08, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: deal with integer overflows in kmalloc_reserve() Blamed commit changed: ptr = kmalloc(size); if (ptr) size = ksize(ptr); size = kmalloc_size_roundup(size); ptr = kmalloc(size); This allowed various crash as reported by syzbot [1] and Kyle Zeng. Problem is that if @size is bigger than 0x80000001, kmalloc_size_roundup(size) returns 2^32. kmalloc_reserve() uses a 32bit variable (obj_size), so 2^32 is truncated to 0. kmalloc(0) returns ZERO_SIZE_PTR which is not handled by skb allocations. Following trace can be triggered if a netdev->mtu is set close to 0x7fffffff We might in the future limit netdev->mtu to more sensible limit (like KMALLOC_MAX_SIZE). This patch is based on a syzbot report, and also a report and tentative fix from Kyle Zeng. [1] BUG: KASAN: user-memory-access in __build_skb_around net/core/skbuff.c:294 [inline] BUG: KASAN: user-memory-access in __alloc_skb+0x3c4/0x6e8 net/core/skbuff.c:527 Write of size 32 at addr 00000000fffffd10 by task syz-executor.4/22554 CPU: 1 PID: 22554 Comm: syz-executor.4 Not tainted 6.1.39-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/03/2023 Call trace: dump_backtrace+0x1c8/0x1f4 arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:279 show_stack+0x2c/0x3c arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:286 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x120/0x1a0 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_report+0xe4/0x4b4 mm/kasan/report.c:398 kasan_report+0x150/0x1ac mm/kasan/report.c:495 kasan_check_range+0x264/0x2a4 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 memset+0x40/0x70 mm/kasan/shadow.c:44 __build_skb_around net/core/skbuff.c:294 [inline] __alloc_skb+0x3c4/0x6e8 net/core/skbuff.c:527 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1316 [inline] igmpv3_newpack+0x104/0x1088 net/ipv4/igmp.c:359 add_grec+0x81c/0x1124 net/ipv4/igmp.c:534 igmpv3_send_cr net/ipv4/igmp.c:667 [inline] igmp_ifc_timer_expire+0x1b0/0x1008 net/ipv4/igmp.c:810 call_timer_fn+0x1c0/0x9f0 kernel/time/timer.c:1474 expire_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1519 [inline] __run_timers+0x54c/0x710 kernel/time/timer.c:1790 run_timer_softirq+0x28/0x4c kernel/time/timer.c:1803 _stext+0x380/0xfbc ____do_softirq+0x14/0x20 arch/arm64/kernel/irq.c:79 call_on_irq_stack+0x24/0x4c arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:891 do_softirq_own_stack+0x20/0x2c arch/arm64/kernel/irq.c:84 invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:437 [inline] __irq_exit_rcu+0x1c0/0x4cc kernel/softirq.c:683 irq_exit_rcu+0x14/0x78 kernel/softirq.c:695 el0_interrupt+0x7c/0x2e0 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:717 __el0_irq_handler_common+0x18/0x24 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:724 el0t_64_irq_handler+0x10/0x1c arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:729 el0t_64_irq+0x1a0/0x1a4 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:584 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/31cf7853a940181593e4472fc56f46574123f9f6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/915d975b2ffa58a14bfcf16fafe00c41315949ff Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf7da02d2b8faf324206e1cbe64a4813ff903cc1 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4ffc47a1c3e5d11a853aa178c9a5136e79412e9