Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-54181)

Summary

Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-54181). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Mitigation: upgrade to 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Fix issue in verifying allow_ptr_leaks

After we converted the capabilities of our networking-bpf program from
cap_sys_admin to cap_net_admin+cap_bpf, our networking-bpf program
failed to start. Because it failed the bpf verifier, and the error log
is "R3 pointer comparison prohibited".

A simple reproducer as follows,

SEC("cls-ingress")
int ingress(struct __sk_buff *skb)
{
struct iphdr *iph = (void *)(long)skb->data + sizeof(struct ethhdr);

if ((long)(iph + 1) > (long)skb->data_end)
	return TC_ACT_STOLEN;
return TC_ACT_OK;

}

Per discussion with Yonghong and Alexei [1], comparison of two packet
pointers is not a pointer leak. This patch fixes it.

Our local kernel is 6.1.y and we expect this fix to be backported to
6.1.y, so stable is CCed.

[1]. https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/CAADnVQ+Nmspr7Si+pxWn8zkE7hX-7s93ugwC+94aXSy4uQ9vBg@mail.gmail.com/

Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD OSV

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-2023-54181 has been found in Kernel.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade Kernel to 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Kernel CVE-2023-54181" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2023-54181 (Kernel)
Patched: 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3 — apply immediately
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.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Kernel.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Kernel.

🔥 Severity

Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'Kernel' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

1
Identify exposure identify
```
grep -r 'Kernel' . | grep -v node_modules
```
リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で Kernel を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。
2
Apply patch patch
```
Upgrade Kernel to 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3
```
ステージング環境で 6.1.53, 6.4.16, 6.5.3 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
3
Post-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

Linux Kernel

[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.8.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.53"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.4.16"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.5.0"},{"fixed":"6.5.3"}]}]

Fix status by distribution

Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE

Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54181 linux
Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54181 linux