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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52698

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.19.306 / 5.4.268 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: calipso: fix memory leak in netlbl_calipso_add_pass() If IPv6 support is disabled at boot (ipv6.disable=1), the calipso_init() -> netlbl_calipso_ops_register() function isn't called, and the netlbl_calipso_ops_get() function always returns NULL. In this case, the netlbl_calipso_add_pass() function allocates memory for the doi_def variable but doesn't free it with the calipso_doi_free(). BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff888011d68180 (size 64): comm "syz-executor.1", pid 10746, jiffies 4295410986 (age 17.928s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 02 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 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<...>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:552 [inline] [<...>] netlbl_calipso_add_pass net/netlabel/netlabel_calipso.c:76 [inline] [<...>] netlbl_calipso_add+0x22e/0x4f0 net/netlabel/netlabel_calipso.c:111 [<...>] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x22f/0x330 net/netlink/genetlink.c:739 [<...>] genl_family_rcv_msg net/netlink/genetlink.c:783 [inline] [<...>] genl_rcv_msg+0x341/0x5a0 net/netlink/genetlink.c:800 [<...>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x14d/0x440 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2515 [<...>] genl_rcv+0x29/0x40 net/netlink/genetlink.c:811 [<...>] netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1313 [inline] [<...>] netlink_unicast+0x54b/0x800 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 [<...>] netlink_sendmsg+0x90a/0xdf0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1934 [<...>] sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:651 [inline] [<...>] sock_sendmsg+0x157/0x190 net/socket.c:671 [<...>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x712/0x870 net/socket.c:2342 [<...>] ___sys_sendmsg+0xf8/0x170 net/socket.c:2396 [<...>] __sys_sendmsg+0xea/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2429 [<...>] do_syscall_64+0x30/0x40 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 [<...>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x61/0xc6 Found by InfoTeCS on behalf of Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller [PM: merged via the LSM tree at Jakub Kicinski request]

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 analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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
Affected:>= 4.8, < 4.19.306>= 4.20, < 5.4.268>= 5.5, < 5.10.209>= 5.11, < 5.15.148>= 5.16, < 6.1.75>= 6.2, < 6.6.14>= 6.7, < 6.7.2

CVSS 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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.19.306 / 5.4.268 / 5.10.209 or later
Fixed in 4.19.3065.4.2685.10.209
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

4.19.306+ / 5.4.268+ / 5.10.209+ / 5.15.148+ / 5.16+ / 6.x (any version beyond the affected ranges)

  1. 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. 2. Check the kernel version against the affected range: >= 4.8, < 4.19.306; >= 4.20, < 5.4.268; >= 5.5, < 5.10.209; >= 5.11, < 5.15.148
  3. 3. Upgrade to a fixed kernel release: 4.19.306 or later for the 4.19 branch, 5.4.268 or later for the 5.4 branch, 5.10.209 or later for the 5.10 branch, 5.15.148 or later for the 5.15 branch, or any version 5.16+ or 6.x
  4. 4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. 5. Verify the fix by running the system normally and checking for any memory leak warnings in dmesg
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility with the new kernel version before upgrading production systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52698 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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