Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2023-52574
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: team: fix null-ptr-deref when team device type is changed Get a null-ptr-deref bug as follows with reproducer [1]. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000228 ... RIP: 0010:vlan_dev_hard_header+0x35/0x140 [8021q] ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x24/0x70 ? page_fault_oops+0x82/0x150 ? exc_page_fault+0x69/0x150 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x26/0x30 ? vlan_dev_hard_header+0x35/0x140 [8021q] ? vlan_dev_hard_header+0x8e/0x140 [8021q] neigh_connected_output+0xb2/0x100 ip6_finish_output2+0x1cb/0x520 ? nf_hook_slow+0x43/0xc0 ? ip6_mtu+0x46/0x80 ip6_finish_output+0x2a/0xb0 mld_sendpack+0x18f/0x250 mld_ifc_work+0x39/0x160 process_one_work+0x1e6/0x3f0 worker_thread+0x4d/0x2f0 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0xe5/0x120 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1b/0x30 [1] $ teamd -t team0 -d -c '{"runner": {"name": "loadbalance"}}' $ ip link add name t-dummy type dummy $ ip link add link t-dummy name t-dummy.100 type vlan id 100 $ ip link add name t-nlmon type nlmon $ ip link set t-nlmon master team0 $ ip link set t-nlmon nomaster $ ip link set t-dummy up $ ip link set team0 up $ ip link set t-dummy.100 down $ ip link set t-dummy.100 master team0 When enslave a vlan device to team device and team device type is changed from non-ether to ether, header_ops of team device is changed to vlan_header_ops. That is incorrect and will trigger null-ptr-deref for vlan->real_dev in vlan_dev_hard_header() because team device is not a vlan device. Cache eth_header_ops in team_setup(), then assign cached header_ops to header_ops of team net device when its type is changed from non-ether to ether to fix the bug.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisThe code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 3.7, < 4.14.327>= 4.15, < 4.19.296>= 4.20, < 5.4.258>= 5.5, < 5.10.198>= 5.11, < 5.15.134>= 5.16, < 6.1.56>= 6.2, < 6.5.6= 6.6CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped4.14.3274.19.2965.4.258
Linux kernel 4.14.327 (or 4.19.296, or 5.4.258, or 5.10.198 depending on your branch)
- 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
- 2. Determine which kernel branch your version belongs to (e.g., 4.14.x, 4.19.x, 5.4.x, or 5.10.x)
- 3. For systems running 4.14.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.14.327 or later
- 4. For systems running 4.19.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.19.296 or later
- 5. For systems running 5.4.x: upgrade to kernel version 5.4.258 or later
- 6. For systems running 5.10.x: upgrade to kernel version 5.10.198 or later
- 7. On Debian/Ubuntu: run `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade` to install the latest available kernel
- 8. On RHEL/CentOS: run `sudo yum update` or `sudo dnf update` to install the latest kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-52574 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52574 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data