CVE-2023-53585

bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: October 4, 2025 at 03:44 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:45 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

Using Linux by Linux?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect Linux - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign The semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows: sk = some_lookup_func() bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk) bpf_sk_release(sk) That is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function therefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be consumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a TCPv4 packet is roughly: netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock __netif_receive_skb_core: sch_handle_ingress: tcf_classify: bpf_sk_assign() deliver_ptype_list_skb: deliver_skb: ip_packet_type->func == ip_rcv: ip_rcv_core: ip_rcv_finish_core: dst_input: ip_local_deliver: ip_local_deliver_finish: ip_protocol_deliver_rcu: tcp_v4_rcv: __inet_lookup_skb: skb_steal_sock The existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything happens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with SOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference. skb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put if necessary. This approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk between bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is violated by unhashed UDP sockets. A new UDP socket is created in TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only added in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound. When bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn't possible to access unhashed UDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn't a problem. This changed in commit 0c48eefae712 ("sock_map: Lift socket state restriction for datagram sockets"), but the helper wasn't adjusted accordingly. The following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount leak: 1. Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap. 2. Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount. 3. bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE. 4. skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to SOCK_RCU_FREE. 5. tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put(). Fix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign(). This matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately the goal of bpf_sk_assign().

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

5.11 ≤ v < 5.15.1325.16 ≤ v < 6.1.535.7 ≤ v < 5.10.1955.7 ≤ v < 5.15.1325.7 ≤ v < 6.1.535.7 ≤ v < 6.4.165.7 ≤ v < 6.5.35.7 ≤ v < 6.66.2 ≤ v < 6.4.166.5 ≤ v < 6.5.35.7cf7fbe660f2dbd738ab58aea8e9b0ca6ad232449
Vendor states this is fixed in 3d4522f59fb748a54446846522941a4f09da63e9 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 67312adc96b5a585970d03b62412847afe2c6b01 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 791a12102e5191dcb6ce0b3a99d71b5a2802d12a (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7dcbc0bb0e5cc1823923744befce59ac353135e6 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 8aa43cfbb68b25119d2ced14ec717173e2901fa2 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in c0ce0fb76610d5fad31f56f2ca8241a2a6717a1b (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.195 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.15.132 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.7 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.53 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.4.16 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.5.3 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6 (unaffected)

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
NVD-CWE-noinfo

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card