Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53109

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-02

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.311 / 4.19.279 or later.

See remediation →

57/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tunnels: annotate lockless accesses to dev->needed_headroom IP tunnels can apparently update dev->needed_headroom in their xmit path. This patch takes care of three tunnels xmit, and also the core LL_RESERVED_SPACE() and LL_RESERVED_SPACE_EXTRA() helpers. More changes might be needed for completeness. BUG: KCSAN: data-race in ip_tunnel_xmit / ip_tunnel_xmit read to 0xffff88815b9da0ec of 2 bytes by task 888 on cpu 1: ip_tunnel_xmit+0x1270/0x1730 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel.c:803 __gre_xmit net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:469 [inline] ipgre_xmit+0x516/0x570 net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:661 __netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4881 [inline] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4895 [inline] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3580 [inline] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x127/0x400 net/core/dev.c:3596 __dev_queue_xmit+0x1007/0x1eb0 net/core/dev.c:4246 dev_queue_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3051 [inline] neigh_direct_output+0x17/0x20 net/core/neighbour.c:1623 neigh_output include/net/neighbour.h:546 [inline] ip_finish_output2+0x740/0x840 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:228 ip_finish_output+0xf4/0x240 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:316 NF_HOOK_COND include/linux/netfilter.h:291 [inline] ip_output+0xe5/0x1b0 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:430 dst_output include/net/dst.h:444 [inline] ip_local_out+0x64/0x80 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:126 iptunnel_xmit+0x34a/0x4b0 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel_core.c:82 ip_tunnel_xmit+0x1451/0x1730 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel.c:813 __gre_xmit net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:469 [inline] ipgre_xmit+0x516/0x570 net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:661 __netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4881 [inline] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4895 [inline] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3580 [inline] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x127/0x400 net/core/dev.c:3596 __dev_queue_xmit+0x1007/0x1eb0 net/core/dev.c:4246 dev_queue_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3051 [inline] neigh_direct_output+0x17/0x20 net/core/neighbour.c:1623 neigh_output include/net/neighbour.h:546 [inline] ip_finish_output2+0x740/0x840 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:228 ip_finish_output+0xf4/0x240 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:316 NF_HOOK_COND include/linux/netfilter.h:291 [inline] ip_output+0xe5/0x1b0 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:430 dst_output include/net/dst.h:444 [inline] ip_local_out+0x64/0x80 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:126 iptunnel_xmit+0x34a/0x4b0 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel_core.c:82 ip_tunnel_xmit+0x1451/0x1730 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel.c:813 __gre_xmit net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:469 [inline] ipgre_xmit+0x516/0x570 net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:661 __netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4881 [inline] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4895 [inline] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3580 [inline] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x127/0x400 net/core/dev.c:3596 __dev_queue_xmit+0x1007/0x1eb0 net/core/dev.c:4246 dev_queue_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3051 [inline] neigh_direct_output+0x17/0x20 net/core/neighbour.c:1623 neigh_output include/net/neighbour.h:546 [inline] ip_finish_output2+0x740/0x840 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:228 ip_finish_output+0xf4/0x240 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:316 NF_HOOK_COND include/linux/netfilter.h:291 [inline] ip_output+0xe5/0x1b0 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:430 dst_output include/net/dst.h:444 [inline] ip_local_out+0x64/0x80 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:126 iptunnel_xmit+0x34a/0x4b0 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel_core.c:82 ip_tunnel_xmit+0x1451/0x1730 net/ipv4/ip_tunnel.c:813 __gre_xmit net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:469 [inline] ipgre_xmit+0x516/0x570 net/ipv4/ip_gre.c:661 __netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4881 [inline] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4895 [inline] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3580 [inline] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x127/0x400 net/core/dev.c:3596 __dev_queue_xmit+0x1007/0x1eb0 net/core/dev.c:4246 dev_queue_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3051 [inline] neigh_direct_output+0x17/0x20 net/core/neighbour.c:1623 neigh_output include/net/neighbour.h:546 [inline] ip_finish_output2+0x740/0x840 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:228 ip_finish_output+0xf4/0x240 net/ipv4/ip_output.c:316 NF_HOOK_COND include/linux/netfilter.h:291 [inline] ip_output+0xe5/0x1b0 net/i ---truncated---

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 4.7, < 4.14.311>= 4.15, < 4.19.279>= 4.20, < 5.4.238>= 5.5, < 5.10.176>= 5.11, < 5.15.104>= 5.16, < 6.1.21>= 6.2, < 6.2.8= 6.3

CVSS breakdown

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

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.14.311 / 4.19.279 / 5.4.238 or later

Fixed in 4.14.3114.19.2795.4.238

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.14.311+ (if on 4.14), 4.19.279+ (if on 4.19), 5.4.238+ (if on 5.4), 5.10.176+ (if on 5.10), or the latest stable LTS (e.g., 6.1.x or newer)

1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
2. Determine which kernel branch your current version belongs to (4.14.x, 4.19.x, 5.4.x, or 5.10.x)
3. For 4.14.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 4.14.311 or later
4. For 4.19.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 4.19.279 or later
5. For 5.4.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 5.4.238 or later
6. For 5.10.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 5.10.176 or later
7. Alternatively, upgrade to any stable kernel version released after the fixed versions (e.g., 5.15.x, 6.1.x, or newer LTS)
8. Reboot the system to apply the new kernel

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting production systems; ensure compatibility with existing user-space tools and drivers before upgrading

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

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53109 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-53109?

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

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What this is

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.

What belongs here

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 4.14.311 / 4.19.279 or later

Severity 5.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~9 hrs

ComplexityModerate

Typical engagementfrom $1,600

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2023-53109 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References