Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2023-53186)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2023-53186). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
skbuff: Fix a race between coalescing and releasing SKBs
Commit 1effe8ca4e34 ("skbuff: fix coalescing for page_pool fragment
recycling") allowed coalescing to proceed with non page pool page and page
pool page when @from is cloned, i.e.
to->pp_recycle --> false
from->pp_recycle --> true
skb_cloned(from) --> true
However, it actually requires skb_cloned(@from) to hold true until
coalescing finishes in this situation. If the other cloned SKB is
released while the merging is in process, from_shinfo->nr_frags will be
set to 0 toward the end of the function, causing the increment of frag
page _refcount to be unexpectedly skipped resulting in inconsistent
reference counts. Later when SKB(@to) is released, it frees the page
directly even though the page pool page is still in use, leading to
use-after-free or double-free errors. So it should be prohibited.
The double-free error message below prompted us to investigate:
BUG: Bad page state in process swapper/1 pfn:0e0d1
page:00000000c6548b28 refcount:-1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000
index:0x2 pfn:0xe0d1
flags: 0xfffffc0000000(node=0|zone=1|lastcpupid=0x1fffff)
raw: 000fffffc0000000 0000000000000000 ffffffff00000101 0000000000000000
raw: 0000000000000002 0000000000000000 ffffffffffffffff 0000000000000000
page dumped because: nonzero _refcount
CPU: 1 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/1 Tainted: G E 6.2.0+
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x32/0x50
bad_p…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-53186 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.1/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2023-53186" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2023-53186 (Linux kernel) — CWE-362 / CVSS v3 8.1
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-362) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.1/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53186 linux Fixed in: 6.1.25-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53186 linux-hwe-edge
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org