Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53585

high Nessus Plugin ID 269372

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: bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign The semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows: sk = some_lookup_func() bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk) bpf_sk_release(sk) That is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function therefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be consumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a TCPv4 packet is roughly: netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock __netif_receive_skb_core:
sch_handle_ingress: tcf_classify: bpf_sk_assign() deliver_ptype_list_skb: deliver_skb:
ip_packet_type->func == ip_rcv: ip_rcv_core: ip_rcv_finish_core: dst_input: ip_local_deliver:
ip_local_deliver_finish: ip_protocol_deliver_rcu: tcp_v4_rcv: __inet_lookup_skb: skb_steal_sock The existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything happens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with SOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference. skb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put if necessary. This approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk between bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is violated by unhashed UDP sockets.
A new UDP socket is created in TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only added in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound. When bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn't possible to access unhashed UDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn't a problem. This changed in commit 0c48eefae712 (sock_map: Lift socket state restriction for datagram sockets), but the helper wasn't adjusted accordingly. The following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount leak: 1. Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap. 2. Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount. 3. bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE. 4. skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to SOCK_RCU_FREE. 5. tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put(). Fix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign(). This matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately the goal of bpf_sk_assign(). (CVE-2023-53585)

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-2023-53585

https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53585

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 269372

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2023_53585.nasl

Version: 1.4

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 10/8/2025

Updated: 11/25/2025

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

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.0

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.2

Temporal Score: 5.3

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-53585

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.1

Temporal Score: 6.5

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

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

Vulnerability Information

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

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: 10/4/2025

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-53585