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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53133

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.103 / 6.1.20 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: bpf, sockmap: Fix an infinite loop error when len is 0 in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser() When the buffer length of the recvmsg system call is 0, we got the flollowing soft lockup problem: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 27s! [a.out:6149] CPU: 3 PID: 6149 Comm: a.out Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.2.0+ #30 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:remove_wait_queue+0xb/0xc0 Code: 5e 41 5f c3 cc cc cc cc 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa 0f 1f 44 00 00 41 57 <41> 56 41 55 41 54 55 48 89 fd 53 48 89 f3 4c 8d 6b 18 4c 8d 73 20 RSP: 0018:ffff88811b5978b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88811a7d3780 RCX: ffffffffb7a4d768 RDX: dffffc0000000000 RSI: ffff88811b597908 RDI: ffff888115408040 RBP: 1ffff110236b2f1b R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffff88811a7d37e7 R10: ffffed10234fa6fc R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff88811179b800 R13: 0000000000000001 R14: ffff88811a7d38a8 R15: ffff88811a7d37e0 FS: 00007f6fb5398740(0000) GS:ffff888237180000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000020000000 CR3: 000000010b6ba002 CR4: 0000000000370ee0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> tcp_msg_wait_data+0x279/0x2f0 tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser+0x3c6/0x490 inet_recvmsg+0x280/0x290 sock_recvmsg+0xfc/0x120 ____sys_recvmsg+0x160/0x3d0 ___sys_recvmsg+0xf0/0x180 __sys_recvmsg+0xea/0x1a0 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc The logic in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser is as follows: msg_bytes_ready: copied = sk_msg_recvmsg(sk, psock, msg, len, flags); if (!copied) { wait data; goto msg_bytes_ready; } In this case, "copied" always is 0, the infinite loop occurs. According to the Linux system call man page, 0 should be returned in this case. Therefore, in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser(), if the length is 0, directly return. Also modify several other functions with the same problem.

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-835

Crafted input drives a loop whose exit condition is never satisfied, hanging the thread and starving the service of the resource it occupies. A single request can be enough to take a worker down. Remediation is bounding iteration counts and validating the conditions that are supposed to terminate the loop.

General guidance for the infinite loop 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:>= 4.20, < 5.15.103>= 5.16, < 6.1.20>= 6.2, < 6.2.7= 6.3

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 5.15.103 / 6.1.20 / 6.2.7 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1036.1.206.2.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.15.103+, 6.1.20+, 6.2.7+, or 6.4+ (depending on your branch)

  1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which version branch your current kernel belongs to (e.g., 5.15.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, or 6.3)
  3. For kernels >= 4.20 and < 5.15.103: Upgrade to kernel version 5.15.103 or later
  4. For kernels >= 5.16 and < 6.1.20: Upgrade to kernel version 6.1.20 or later
  5. For kernels >= 6.2 and < 6.2.7: Upgrade to kernel version 6.2.7 or later
  6. For kernel 6.3: Upgrade to kernel version 6.4 or later, or apply the vendor patch from commit 4a476285f6d2921c3c9faa494eab83b78f78fc55
  7. Reboot into the new kernel
  8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with existing modules or user-space applications; test in staging first

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-2023-53133 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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