Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2023-53667
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: cdc_ncm: Deal with too low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize Currently in cdc_ncm_check_tx_max(), if dwNtbOutMaxSize is lower than the calculated "min" value, but greater than zero, the logic sets tx_max to dwNtbOutMaxSize. This is then used to allocate a new SKB in cdc_ncm_fill_tx_frame() where all the data is handled. For small values of dwNtbOutMaxSize the memory allocated during alloc_skb(dwNtbOutMaxSize, GFP_ATOMIC) will have the same size, due to how size is aligned at alloc time: size = SKB_DATA_ALIGN(size); size += SKB_DATA_ALIGN(sizeof(struct skb_shared_info)); Thus we hit the same bug that we tried to squash with commit 2be6d4d16a084 ("net: cdc_ncm: Allow for dwNtbOutMaxSize to be unset or zero") Low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize do not cause an issue presently because at alloc_skb() time more memory (512b) is allocated than required for the SKB headers alone (320b), leaving some space (512b - 320b = 192b) for CDC data (172b). However, if more elements (for example 3 x u64 = [24b]) were added to one of the SKB header structs, say 'struct skb_shared_info', increasing its original size (320b [320b aligned]) to something larger (344b [384b aligned]), then suddenly the CDC data (172b) no longer fits in the spare SKB data area (512b - 384b = 128b). Consequently the SKB bounds checking semantics fails and panics: skbuff: skb_over_panic: text:ffffffff831f755b len:184 put:172 head:ffff88811f1c6c00 data:ffff88811f1c6c00 tail:0xb8 end:0x80 dev:<NULL> ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:113! invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN CPU: 0 PID: 57 Comm: kworker/0:2 Not tainted 5.15.106-syzkaller-00249-g19c0ed55a470 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/14/2023 Workqueue: mld mld_ifc_work RIP: 0010:skb_panic net/core/skbuff.c:113 [inline] RIP: 0010:skb_over_panic+0x14c/0x150 net/core/skbuff.c:118 [snip] Call Trace: <TASK> skb_put+0x151/0x210 net/core/skbuff.c:2047 skb_put_zero include/linux/skbuff.h:2422 [inline] cdc_ncm_ndp16 drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c:1131 [inline] cdc_ncm_fill_tx_frame+0x11ab/0x3da0 drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c:1308 cdc_ncm_tx_fixup+0xa3/0x100 Deal with too low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize, clamp it in the range [USB_CDC_NCM_NTB_MIN_OUT_SIZE, CDC_NCM_NTB_MAX_SIZE_TX]. We ensure enough data space is allocated to handle CDC data by making sure dwNtbOutMaxSize is not smaller than USB_CDC_NCM_NTB_MIN_OUT_SIZE.
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 analysisThe code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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
>= 3.16, < 4.14.317>= 4.15, < 4.19.285>= 4.20, < 5.4.245>= 5.5, < 5.10.181>= 5.11, < 5.15.114>= 5.16, < 6.1.31>= 6.2, < 6.3.5= 6.4CVSS 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 · scoped4.14.3174.19.2855.4.245
Upgrade to kernel 4.14.317+ (for 4.14.x branch), 4.19.285+ (for 4.19.x branch), 5.4.245+ (for 5.4.x branch), or 5.10.181+ (for 5.10.x branch)
- Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
- Determine which version range your current kernel falls into from: >= 3.16, < 4.14.317; >= 4.15, < 4.19.285; >= 4.20, < 5.4.245; >= 5.5, < 5.10.181
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version at or above the first fixed version in your branch: 4.14.317, 4.19.285, 5.4.245, or 5.10.181 respectively
- Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the commit 2334ff0b343ba6ba7a6c0586fcc83992bbbc1776 is included in the new kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-53667 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53667 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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