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CVE-2023-53821
ip6_vti: fix slab-use-after-free in decode_session6
Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ip6_vti: fix slab-use-after-free in decode_session6 When ipv6_vti device is set to the qdisc of the sfb type, the cb field of the sent skb may be modified during enqueuing. Then, slab-use-after-free may occur when ipv6_vti device sends IPv6 packets. The stack information is as follows: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in decode_session6+0x103f/0x1890 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88802e08edc2 by task swapper/0/0 CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.4.0-next-20230707-00001-g84e2cad7f979 #410 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-1.fc33 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0xd9/0x150 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x2c/0x3c0 kasan_report+0x11d/0x130 decode_session6+0x103f/0x1890 __xfrm_decode_session+0x54/0xb0 vti6_tnl_xmit+0x3e6/0x1ee0 dev_hard_start_xmit+0x187/0x700 sch_direct_xmit+0x1a3/0xc30 __qdisc_run+0x510/0x17a0 __dev_queue_xmit+0x2215/0x3b10 neigh_connected_output+0x3c2/0x550 ip6_finish_output2+0x55a/0x1550 ip6_finish_output+0x6b9/0x1270 ip6_output+0x1f1/0x540 ndisc_send_skb+0xa63/0x1890 ndisc_send_rs+0x132/0x6f0 addrconf_rs_timer+0x3f1/0x870 call_timer_fn+0x1a0/0x580 expire_timers+0x29b/0x4b0 run_timer_softirq+0x326/0x910 __do_softirq+0x1d4/0x905 irq_exit_rcu+0xb7/0x120 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x97/0xc0 </IRQ> Allocated by task 9176: kasan_save_stack+0x22/0x40 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x7f/0x90 kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x1cd/0x410 kmalloc_reserve+0x165/0x270 __alloc_skb+0x129/0x330 netlink_sendmsg+0x9b1/0xe30 sock_sendmsg+0xde/0x190 ____sys_sendmsg+0x739/0x920 ___sys_sendmsg+0x110/0x1b0 __sys_sendmsg+0xf7/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Freed by task 9176: kasan_save_stack+0x22/0x40 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x40 ____kasan_slab_free+0x160/0x1c0 slab_free_freelist_hook+0x11b/0x220 kmem_cache_free+0xf0/0x490 skb_free_head+0x17f/0x1b0 skb_release_data+0x59c/0x850 consume_skb+0xd2/0x170 netlink_unicast+0x54f/0x7f0 netlink_sendmsg+0x926/0xe30 sock_sendmsg+0xde/0x190 ____sys_sendmsg+0x739/0x920 ___sys_sendmsg+0x110/0x1b0 __sys_sendmsg+0xf7/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88802e08ed00 which belongs to the cache skbuff_small_head of size 640 The buggy address is located 194 bytes inside of freed 640-byte region [ffff88802e08ed00, ffff88802e08ef80) As commit f855691975bb ("xfrm6: Fix the nexthdr offset in _decode_session6.") showed, xfrm_decode_session was originally intended only for the receive path. IP6CB(skb)->nhoff is not set during transmission. Therefore, set the cb field in the skb to 0 before sending packets.

INFO

Published Date :

Dec. 9, 2025, 4:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

Dec. 9, 2025, 6:37 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2023-53821 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Linux linux_kernel
: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1
Solution
Fix a slab-use-after-free issue in the Linux kernel's IPV6 VTI device.
  • Apply the patch 'xfrm6: Fix the nexthdr offset in _decode_session6.'
  • Set the cb field in the skb to 0 before sending.
  • Update the Linux kernel to a patched version.
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-2023-53821.

URL Resource
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f0ab8d52ee0062b28367dea23c29e254a26d7db
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55ad2309205cc00c585344374c7472420e1b2c12
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fd41f1ba638938c9a1195d09bc6fa3be2712f25
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1639a82ce14af76b6419778d343ccbff86ee626
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c070688bfbe7759e61e697e421b2a331b0dd74bc
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb47e612e59c358c3968a92f90dd36c78c9a2106
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec23b25e5687dbd644c0f57bcb6af22dd5a6dd36
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa6c6c04f6c9b21b315023f487e5a07ae7fcf647
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2023-53821 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-2023-53821 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-2023-53821 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2023-53821 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. 09, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ip6_vti: fix slab-use-after-free in decode_session6 When ipv6_vti device is set to the qdisc of the sfb type, the cb field of the sent skb may be modified during enqueuing. Then, slab-use-after-free may occur when ipv6_vti device sends IPv6 packets. The stack information is as follows: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in decode_session6+0x103f/0x1890 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88802e08edc2 by task swapper/0/0 CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.4.0-next-20230707-00001-g84e2cad7f979 #410 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-1.fc33 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0xd9/0x150 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x2c/0x3c0 kasan_report+0x11d/0x130 decode_session6+0x103f/0x1890 __xfrm_decode_session+0x54/0xb0 vti6_tnl_xmit+0x3e6/0x1ee0 dev_hard_start_xmit+0x187/0x700 sch_direct_xmit+0x1a3/0xc30 __qdisc_run+0x510/0x17a0 __dev_queue_xmit+0x2215/0x3b10 neigh_connected_output+0x3c2/0x550 ip6_finish_output2+0x55a/0x1550 ip6_finish_output+0x6b9/0x1270 ip6_output+0x1f1/0x540 ndisc_send_skb+0xa63/0x1890 ndisc_send_rs+0x132/0x6f0 addrconf_rs_timer+0x3f1/0x870 call_timer_fn+0x1a0/0x580 expire_timers+0x29b/0x4b0 run_timer_softirq+0x326/0x910 __do_softirq+0x1d4/0x905 irq_exit_rcu+0xb7/0x120 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x97/0xc0 </IRQ> Allocated by task 9176: kasan_save_stack+0x22/0x40 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x7f/0x90 kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x1cd/0x410 kmalloc_reserve+0x165/0x270 __alloc_skb+0x129/0x330 netlink_sendmsg+0x9b1/0xe30 sock_sendmsg+0xde/0x190 ____sys_sendmsg+0x739/0x920 ___sys_sendmsg+0x110/0x1b0 __sys_sendmsg+0xf7/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Freed by task 9176: kasan_save_stack+0x22/0x40 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x40 ____kasan_slab_free+0x160/0x1c0 slab_free_freelist_hook+0x11b/0x220 kmem_cache_free+0xf0/0x490 skb_free_head+0x17f/0x1b0 skb_release_data+0x59c/0x850 consume_skb+0xd2/0x170 netlink_unicast+0x54f/0x7f0 netlink_sendmsg+0x926/0xe30 sock_sendmsg+0xde/0x190 ____sys_sendmsg+0x739/0x920 ___sys_sendmsg+0x110/0x1b0 __sys_sendmsg+0xf7/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88802e08ed00 which belongs to the cache skbuff_small_head of size 640 The buggy address is located 194 bytes inside of freed 640-byte region [ffff88802e08ed00, ffff88802e08ef80) As commit f855691975bb ("xfrm6: Fix the nexthdr offset in _decode_session6.") showed, xfrm_decode_session was originally intended only for the receive path. IP6CB(skb)->nhoff is not set during transmission. Therefore, set the cb field in the skb to 0 before sending packets.
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f0ab8d52ee0062b28367dea23c29e254a26d7db
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55ad2309205cc00c585344374c7472420e1b2c12
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fd41f1ba638938c9a1195d09bc6fa3be2712f25
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1639a82ce14af76b6419778d343ccbff86ee626
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c070688bfbe7759e61e697e421b2a331b0dd74bc
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb47e612e59c358c3968a92f90dd36c78c9a2106
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec23b25e5687dbd644c0f57bcb6af22dd5a6dd36
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa6c6c04f6c9b21b315023f487e5a07ae7fcf647
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
Vulnerability Scoring Details
No CVSS metrics available for this vulnerability.