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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53559

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.324 / 4.19.293 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: ip_vti: fix potential slab-use-after-free in decode_session6 When ip_vti device is set to the qdisc of the sfb type, the cb field of the sent skb may be modified during enqueuing. Then, slab-use-after-free may occur when ip_vti device sends IPv6 packets. As commit f855691975bb ("xfrm6: Fix the nexthdr offset in _decode_session6.") showed, xfrm_decode_session was originally intended only for the receive path. IP6CB(skb)->nhoff is not set during transmission. Therefore, set the cb field in the skb to 0 before sending packets.

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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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:>= 3.19.1, < 4.14.324>= 4.15, < 4.19.293>= 4.20, < 5.4.255>= 5.5, < 5.10.192>= 5.11, < 5.15.128>= 5.16, < 6.1.47>= 6.2, < 6.4.12= 3.19= 6.5

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 4.14.324 / 4.19.293 / 5.4.255 or later
Fixed in 4.14.3244.19.2935.4.255
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the latest stable release in your current kernel branch: 4.14.324+, 4.19.293+, 5.4.255+, or 5.10.192+

  1. 1. Identify the current running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. 2. Determine which major kernel branch your version belongs to (e.g., 4.14, 4.19, 5.4, 5.10)
  3. 3. For kernel 4.14.x: upgrade to version 4.14.324 or later
  4. 4. For kernel 4.19.x: upgrade to version 4.19.293 or later
  5. 5. For kernel 5.4.x: upgrade to version 5.4.255 or later
  6. 6. For kernel 5.10.x: upgrade to version 5.10.192 or later
  7. 7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  8. 8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the commit 0b4d69539fdea is included
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure driver compatibility 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 $3,200. 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-2023-53559 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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