Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53354

medium Nessus Plugin ID 265644

Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

- In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: skbuff: skb_segment, Call zero copy functions before using skbuff frags Commit bf5c25d60861 (skbuff: in skb_segment, call zerocopy functions once per nskb) added the call to zero copy functions in skb_segment(). The change introduced a bug in skb_segment() because skb_orphan_frags() may possibly change the number of fragments or allocate new fragments altogether leaving nrfrags and frag to point to the old values. This can cause a panic with stacktrace like the one below. [ 193.894380] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address:
00000000000000bc [ 193.895273] CPU: 13 PID: 18164 Comm: vh-net-17428 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G O 5.15.123+ #26 [ 193.903919] RIP: 0010:skb_segment+0xb0e/0x12f0 [ 194.021892] Call Trace: [ 194.027422] <TASK> [ 194.072861] tcp_gso_segment+0x107/0x540 [ 194.082031] inet_gso_segment+0x15c/0x3d0 [ 194.090783] skb_mac_gso_segment+0x9f/0x110 [ 194.095016] __skb_gso_segment+0xc1/0x190 [ 194.103131] netem_enqueue+0x290/0xb10 [sch_netem] [ 194.107071] dev_qdisc_enqueue+0x16/0x70 [ 194.110884]
__dev_queue_xmit+0x63b/0xb30 [ 194.121670] bond_start_xmit+0x159/0x380 [bonding] [ 194.128506] dev_hard_start_xmit+0xc3/0x1e0 [ 194.131787] __dev_queue_xmit+0x8a0/0xb30 [ 194.138225] macvlan_start_xmit+0x4f/0x100 [macvlan] [ 194.141477] dev_hard_start_xmit+0xc3/0x1e0 [ 194.144622] sch_direct_xmit+0xe3/0x280 [ 194.147748] __dev_queue_xmit+0x54a/0xb30 [ 194.154131] tap_get_user+0x2a8/0x9c0 [tap] [ 194.157358] tap_sendmsg+0x52/0x8e0 [tap] [ 194.167049] handle_tx_zerocopy+0x14e/0x4c0 [vhost_net] [ 194.173631] handle_tx+0xcd/0xe0 [vhost_net] [ 194.176959] vhost_worker+0x76/0xb0 [vhost] [ 194.183667] kthread+0x118/0x140 [ 194.190358] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [ 194.193670] </TASK> In this case calling skb_orphan_frags() updated nr_frags leaving nrfrags local variable in skb_segment() stale. This resulted in the code hitting i >= nrfrags prematurely and trying to move to next frag_skb using list_skb pointer, which was NULL, and caused kernel panic. Move the call to zero copy functions before using frags and nr_frags. (CVE-2023-53354)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

See Also

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2023-53354

https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53354

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 265644

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2023_53354.nasl

Version: 1.6

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 9/20/2025

Updated: 10/28/2025

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 4.4

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.6

Temporal Score: 5.6

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-53354

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5.5

Temporal Score: 5.1

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-devel, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-devel, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-core, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-core, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-kvm, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-modules, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-modules-extra, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-kvm, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-modules, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-modules-extra, cpe:/o:centos:centos:8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-edge, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-5.4, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gkeop, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gkeop-5.4, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-raspi2, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-core, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-core, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-devel, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-modules, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-modules-extra, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-devel, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-modules, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-modules-extra, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-intel, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-5.15, cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-modules-core, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-modules-core, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-kvm, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-kvm, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-modules-internal, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-modules-internal, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-selftests-internal, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-devel-matched, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-debug-modules-partner, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-devel-matched, p-cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:kernel-rt-modules-partner, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-devel-matched, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-modules-core, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-modules-internal, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-debug-modules-partner, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-devel-matched, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-modules-core, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-modules-internal, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-modules-partner, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:24.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-6.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-nvidia-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gkeop-5.15, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-edge, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-intel-iot-realtime, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-raspi-realtime, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-realtime, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-4.15, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.6, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-nvidia-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-allwinner-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-intel-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-starfive-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-starfive-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-6.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-6.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.10, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.14, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.17, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.1, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-6.5, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-starfive-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.13, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-rt-selftests-internal

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 9/17/2025

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-53354