CVE-2023-53619

netfilter: conntrack: Avoid nf_ct_helper_hash uses after free

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: October 7, 2025 at 03:19 PM UTC
Updated: October 15, 2026 at 10:17 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: conntrack: Avoid nf_ct_helper_hash uses after free If nf_conntrack_init_start() fails (for example due to a register_nf_conntrack_bpf() failure), the nf_conntrack_helper_fini() clean-up path frees the nf_ct_helper_hash map. When built with NF_CONNTRACK=y, further netfilter modules (e.g: netfilter_conntrack_ftp) can still be loaded and call nf_conntrack_helpers_register(), independently of whether nf_conntrack initialized correctly. This accesses the nf_ct_helper_hash dangling pointer and causes a uaf, possibly leading to random memory corruption. This patch guards nf_conntrack_helper_register() from accessing a freed or uninitialized nf_ct_helper_hash pointer and fixes possible uses-after-free when loading a conntrack module.

Affected

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

3.6 ≤ v < 4.14.3224.15 ≤ v < 4.19.2914.20 ≤ v < 5.4.2515.11 ≤ v < 5.15.1215.16 ≤ v < 6.1.395.5 ≤ v < 5.10.1886.2 ≤ v < 6.4.412f7a505331e6b2754684b509f2ac8f0011ce6446.56.5 rc1
Vendor states this is fixed in 00716f25f9697d02a0d9bd622575c7c7321ba3d0 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 05561f822f27b9fa88fa5504ddec34bf38833034 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4ee69c91cb8f9ca144bc0861969e5a1a3c6152a7 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 61c7a5256543ae7d24cd9d21853d514c8632e1e9 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6eef7a2b933885a17679eb8ed0796ddf0ee5309b (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6f03ce2f1abcb9f9d0511e3659ca6eb60e39f566 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 8289d422f5e484efe4a565fe18e862ecd621c175 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in fce5cc7cbd4b92f979bf02c9ec5fb69aaeba92d7 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 3.6 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.14.322 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.19.291 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.188 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.15.121 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.4.251 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.39 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.4.4 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.5 (unaffected)

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-416

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