Vulnerability · Published Oct 4, 2025 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2023-53585bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign
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 5% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign The semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows: sk = some_lookup_func() bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk) bpf_sk_release(sk) That is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function therefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be consumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a TCPv4 packet is roughly: netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock __netif_receive_skb_core: sch_handle_ingress: tcf_classify: bpf_sk_assign() deliver_ptype_list_skb: deliver_skb: ip_packet_type->func == ip_rcv: ip_rcv_core: ip_rcv_finish_core: dst_input: ip_local_deliver: ip_local_deliver_finish: ip_protocol_deliver_rcu: tcp_v4_rcv: __inet_lookup_skb: skb_steal_sock The existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything happens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with SOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference. skb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put if necessary. This approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk between bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is violated by unhashed UDP sockets. A new UDP socket is created in TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only added in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound. When bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn't possible to access unhashed UDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn't a problem. This changed in commit 0c48eefae712 ("sock_map: Lift socket state restriction for datagram sockets"), but the helper wasn't adjusted accordingly. The following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount leak: 1. Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap. 2. Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount. 3. bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE. 4. skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to SOCK_RCU_FREE. 5. tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put(). Fix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign(). This matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately the goal of bpf_sk_assign().
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | 6.1.55-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Debian:13 | linux | 6.5.3-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.5.3-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux | 5.15.0-94.104 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws | 5.15.0-1053.58 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure | 5.15.0-1056.64 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde | 5.15.0-1056.64.1 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp | 5.15.0-1051.59 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gke | 5.15.0-1050.55 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gkeop | 5.15.0-1036.42 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-ibm | 5.15.0-1046.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-intel | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iotg | 5.15.0-1047.53 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-kvm | 5.15.0-1050.55 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency | 5.15.0-94.104 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia | 5.15.0-1044.44 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 5.15.0-1022.22 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra-igx | 5.15.0-1009.9 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle | 5.15.0-1051.57 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-raspi | 5.15.0-1046.49 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-xilinx-zynqmp | 5.15.0-1027.31 | UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53585 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | cf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before 791a12102e5191dcb6ce0b3a99d71b5a2802d12acf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before 7dcbc0bb0e5cc1823923744befce59ac353135e6cf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before c0ce0fb76610d5fad31f56f2ca8241a2a6717a1bcf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before 8aa43cfbb68b25119d2ced14ec717173e2901fa2cf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before 3d4522f59fb748a54446846522941a4f09da63e9cf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449 – before 67312adc96b5a585970d03b62412847afe2c6b01 |
| Linux | Linux | 5.7 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/791a12102e5191dcb6ce0b3a99d71b5a2802d12a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7dcbc0bb0e5cc1823923744befce59ac353135e6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0ce0fb76610d5fad31f56f2ca8241a2a6717a1b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8aa43cfbb68b25119d2ced14ec717173e2901fa2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d4522f59fb748a54446846522941a4f09da63e9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/67312adc96b5a585970d03b62412847afe2c6b01