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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53525

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.9 / 5.10.178 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: RDMA/cma: Allow UD qp_type to join multicast only As for multicast: - The SIDR is the only mode that makes sense; - Besides PS_UDP, other port spaces like PS_IB is also allowed, as it is UD compatible. In this case qkey also needs to be set [1]. This patch allows only UD qp_type to join multicast, and set qkey to default if it's not set, to fix an uninit-value error: the ib->rec.qkey field is accessed without being initialized. ===================================================== BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in cma_set_qkey drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:510 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in cma_make_mc_event+0xb73/0xe00 drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4570 cma_set_qkey drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:510 [inline] cma_make_mc_event+0xb73/0xe00 drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4570 cma_iboe_join_multicast drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4782 [inline] rdma_join_multicast+0x2b83/0x30a0 drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4814 ucma_process_join+0xa76/0xf60 drivers/infiniband/core/ucma.c:1479 ucma_join_multicast+0x1e3/0x250 drivers/infiniband/core/ucma.c:1546 ucma_write+0x639/0x6d0 drivers/infiniband/core/ucma.c:1732 vfs_write+0x8ce/0x2030 fs/read_write.c:588 ksys_write+0x28c/0x520 fs/read_write.c:643 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:655 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:652 [inline] __ia32_sys_write+0xdb/0x120 fs/read_write.c:652 do_syscall_32_irqs_on arch/x86/entry/common.c:114 [inline] __do_fast_syscall_32+0x96/0xf0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:180 do_fast_syscall_32+0x34/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:205 do_SYSENTER_32+0x1b/0x20 arch/x86/entry/common.c:248 entry_SYSENTER_compat_after_hwframe+0x4d/0x5c Local variable ib.i created at: cma_iboe_join_multicast drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4737 [inline] rdma_join_multicast+0x586/0x30a0 drivers/infiniband/core/cma.c:4814 ucma_process_join+0xa76/0xf60 drivers/infiniband/core/ucma.c:1479 CPU: 0 PID: 29874 Comm: syz-executor.3 Not tainted 5.16.0-rc3-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011 ===================================================== [1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-rdma/[email protected]/

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-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource 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:>= 5.8.17, < 5.9>= 5.9.2, < 5.10.178>= 5.11, < 5.15.108>= 5.16, < 6.1.25>= 6.2, < 6.2.12= 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 5.9 / 5.10.178 / 5.15.108 or later
Fixed in 5.95.10.1785.15.108
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 6.1.25 or later (LTS), or 5.15.108 or later for 5.x stable branch, or 5.10.178 for 5.10 stable branch

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on your current kernel version and distribution's kernel support cycle
  3. 3. For production systems, schedule a maintenance window for kernel upgrade
  4. 4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to one of the fixed versions: 5.10.178, 5.15.108, or 6.1.25 (or later stable releases)
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade by rebooting the system and confirming the kernel version with 'uname -r'
  6. 6. For distributions that use kernel packages, use the distribution's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade, yum update, dnf update) to install the latest stable kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backup and 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-2023-53525 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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
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