Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xsk: check IFF_UP earlier in...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
xsk: check IFF_UP earlier in Tx path
Xsk Tx can be triggered via either sendmsg() or poll() syscalls. These
two paths share a call to common function xsk_xmit() which has two
sanity checks within. A pseudo code example to show the two paths:
__xsk_sendmsg() : xsk_poll():
if (unlikely(!xsk_is_bound(xs))) if (unlikely(!xsk_is_bound(xs)))
return -ENXIO; return mask;
if (unlikely(need_wait)) (...)
return -EOPNOTSUPP; xsk_xmit()
mark napi id
(...)
xsk_xmit()
xsk_xmit():
if (unlikely(!(xs->dev->flags & IFF_UP)))
return -ENETDOWN;
if (unlikely(!xs->tx))
return -ENOBUFS;
As it can be observed above, in sendmsg() napi id can be marked on
interface that was not brought up and this causes a NULL ptr
dereference:
[31757.505631] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018
[31757.512710] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
[31757.517936] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
[31757.523149] PGD 0 P4D 0
[31757.525726] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
[31757.530154] CPU: 26 PID: 95641 Comm: xdpsock Not tainted 6.2.0-rc5+ #40
[31757.536871] Hardware name: Intel Corporation S2600WFT/S2600WFT, BIOS SE5C620.86B.02.01.0008.031920191559 03/19/2019
[31757.547457] RIP: 0010:xsk_sendmsg+0xde/0x180
[31757.551799] Code: 00 75 a2 48 8b 00 a8 04 75 9b 84 d2 74 69 8b 85 14 01 00 00 85 c0 75 1b 48 8b 85 28 03 00 00 48 8b 80 98 00 00 00 48 8b 40 20 <8b> 40 18 89 85 14 01 00 00 8b bd 14 01 00 00 81 ff 00 01 00 00 0f
[31757.570840] RSP: 0018:ffffc90034f27dc0 EFLAGS: 00010246
[31757.576143] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc90034f27e18 RCX: 0000000000000000
[31757.583389] RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffffc90034f27e18 RDI: ffff88984cf3c100
[31757.590631] RBP: ffff88984714a800 R08: ffff88984714a800 R09: 0000000000000000
[31757.597877] R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 00000000fffffffa
[31757.605123] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000003 R15: 0000000000000000
[31757.612364] FS: 00007fb4c5931180(0000) GS:ffff88afdfa00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[31757.620571] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[31757.626406] CR2: 0000000000000018 CR3: 000000184b41c003 CR4: 00000000007706e0
[31757.633648] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
[31757.640894] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
[31757.648139] PKRU: 55555554
[31757.650894] Call Trace:
[31757.653385]
[31757.655524] sock_sendmsg+0x8f/0xa0
[31757.659077] ? sockfd_lookup_light+0x12/0x70
[31757.663416] __sys_sendto+0xfc/0x170
[31757.667051] ? do_sched_setscheduler+0xdb/0x1b0
[31757.671658] __x64_sys_sendto+0x20/0x30
[31757.675557] do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90
[31757.679197] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc
[31757.687969] Code: 8e f6 ff 44 8b 4c 24 2c 4c 8b 44 24 20 41 89 c4 44 8b 54 24 28 48 8b 54 24 18 b8 2c 00 00 00 48 8b 74 24 10 8b 7c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 3a 44 89 e7 48 89 44 24 08 e8 b5 8e f6 ff 48
[31757.707007] RSP: 002b:00007ffd49c73c70 EFLAGS: 00000293 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002c
[31757.714694] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000055a996565380 RCX: 00007fb4c5727c16
[31757.721939] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000003
[31757.729184] RBP: 0000000000000040 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
[31757.736429] R10: 0000000000000040 R11: 0000000000000293 R12: 0000000000000000
[31757.743673] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000
[31757.754940]
To fix this, let's make xsk_xmit a function that will be responsible for
generic Tx, where RCU is handled accordingly and pull out sanity checks
and xs->zc handling. Populate sanity checks to __xsk_sendmsg() and
xsk_poll().
Impact
The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash. Typical impact: denial of service via crash.
CVE-2023-53240 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-53240? CVE-2023-53240 is a medium-severity null pointer dereference vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. The application dereferences a null pointer, causing a crash.
- How severe is CVE-2023-53240? CVE-2023-53240 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-53240? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2023-53240 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2023-53240 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-53240 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-53240 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.