Vulnerability · Published Oct 1, 2025 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2023-53489tcp/udp: Fix memleaks of sk and zerocopy skbs with TX timestamp.
Medium 5.5
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 6% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp/udp: Fix memleaks of sk and zerocopy skbs with TX timestamp. syzkaller reported [0] memory leaks of an UDP socket and ZEROCOPY skbs. We can reproduce the problem with these sequences: sk = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0) sk.setsockopt(SOL_SOCKET, SO_TIMESTAMPING, SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_SOFTWARE) sk.setsockopt(SOL_SOCKET, SO_ZEROCOPY, 1) sk.sendto(b'', MSG_ZEROCOPY, ('127.0.0.1', 53)) sk.close() sendmsg() calls msg_zerocopy_alloc(), which allocates a skb, sets skb->cb->ubuf.refcnt to 1, and calls sock_hold(). Here, struct ubuf_info_msgzc indirectly holds a refcnt of the socket. When the skb is sent, __skb_tstamp_tx() clones it and puts the clone into the socket's error queue with the TX timestamp. When the original skb is received locally, skb_copy_ubufs() calls skb_unclone(), and pskb_expand_head() increments skb->cb->ubuf.refcnt. This additional count is decremented while freeing the skb, but struct ubuf_info_msgzc still has a refcnt, so __msg_zerocopy_callback() is not called. The last refcnt is not released unless we retrieve the TX timestamped skb by recvmsg(). Since we clear the error queue in inet_sock_destruct() after the socket's refcnt reaches 0, there is a circular dependency. If we close() the socket holding such skbs, we never call sock_put() and leak the count, sk, and skb. TCP has the same problem, and commit e0c8bccd40fc ("net: stream: purge sk_error_queue in sk_stream_kill_queues()") tried to fix it by calling skb_queue_purge() during close(). However, there is a small chance that skb queued in a qdisc or device could be put into the error queue after the skb_queue_purge() call. In __skb_tstamp_tx(), the cloned skb should not have a reference to the ubuf to remove the circular dependency, but skb_clone() does not call skb_copy_ubufs() for zerocopy skb. So, we need to call skb_orphan_frags_rx() for the cloned skb to call skb_copy_ubufs(). [0]: BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88800c6d2d00 (size 1152): comm "syz-executor392", pid 264, jiffies 4294785440 (age 13.044s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 cd af e8 81 00 00 00 00 ................ 02 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............ backtrace: [<0000000055636812>] sk_prot_alloc+0x64/0x2a0 net/core/sock.c:2024 [<0000000054d77b7a>] sk_alloc+0x3b/0x800 net/core/sock.c:2083 [<0000000066f3c7e0>] inet_create net/ipv4/af_inet.c:319 [inline] [<0000000066f3c7e0>] inet_create+0x31e/0xe40 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:245 [<000000009b83af97>] __sock_create+0x2ab/0x550 net/socket.c:1515 [<00000000b9b11231>] sock_create net/socket.c:1566 [inline] [<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket_create net/socket.c:1603 [inline] [<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket_create net/socket.c:1588 [inline] [<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket+0x138/0x250 net/socket.c:1636 [<000000004fb45142>] __do_sys_socket net/socket.c:1649 [inline] [<000000004fb45142>] __se_sys_socket net/socket.c:1647 [inline] [<000000004fb45142>] __x64_sys_socket+0x73/0xb0 net/socket.c:1647 [<0000000066999e0e>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [<0000000066999e0e>] do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [<0000000017f238c1>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff888017633a00 (size 240): comm "syz-executor392", pid 264, jiffies 4294785440 (age 13.044s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2d 6d 0c 80 88 ff ff .........-m..... backtrace: [<000000002b1c4368>] __alloc_skb+0x229/0x320 net/core/skbuff.c:497 [<00000000143579a6>] alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1265 [inline] [<00000000143579a6>] sock_omalloc+0xaa/0x190 net/core/sock.c:2596 [<00000000be626478>] msg_zerocopy_alloc net/core/skbuff.c:1294 [inline] [<00000000be626478>] ---truncated---
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | 6.1.37-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Debian:13 | linux | 6.3.7-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.3.7-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux | 5.15.0-79.86 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws | 5.15.0-1042.47 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure | 5.15.0-1045.52 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde | 5.15.0-1045.52.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp | 5.15.0-1039.47 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gke | 5.15.0-1039.44 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gkeop | 5.15.0-1025.30 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-ibm | 5.15.0-1035.38 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-intel | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iotg | 5.15.0-1037.42 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-kvm | 5.15.0-1039.44 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency | 5.15.0-79.88 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia | 5.15.0-1030.30 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 5.15.0-1016.16 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | 5.15.0-1002.2 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle | 5.15.0-1040.46 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-raspi | 5.15.0-1035.38 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-xilinx-zynqmp | 5.15.0-1025.29 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53489 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 281072fb2a7294cde7acbf5375b879f40a8001b7f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 1f69c086b20e27763af28145981435423f088268f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 602fa8af44fd55a58f9e94eb673e8adad2c6cc46f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 230a5ed7d813fb516de81d23f09d7506753e41e9f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 43e4197dd5f6b474a8b16f8b6a42cd45cf4f9d1af214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before cb52e7f24c1d01a536a847dff0d1d95889cc3b5cf214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 30290f210ba7426ff7592fe2eb4114b1b5bad219f214f915e7db99091f1312c48b30928c1e0c90b7 – before 426384dd4980040651536fef5feac4dcc4d7ee4e |
| Linux | Linux | 4.14 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/281072fb2a7294cde7acbf5375b879f40a8001b7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f69c086b20e27763af28145981435423f088268
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/602fa8af44fd55a58f9e94eb673e8adad2c6cc46
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/230a5ed7d813fb516de81d23f09d7506753e41e9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43e4197dd5f6b474a8b16f8b6a42cd45cf4f9d1a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb52e7f24c1d01a536a847dff0d1d95889cc3b5c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30290f210ba7426ff7592fe2eb4114b1b5bad219
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/426384dd4980040651536fef5feac4dcc4d7ee4e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50749f2dd6854a41830996ad302aef2ffaf011d8