CVE-2023-53186
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-09-15

Last updated on: 2025-12-02

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
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: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0x32/0x50 bad_page+0x69/0xf0 free_pcp_prepare+0x260/0x2f0 free_unref_page+0x20/0x1c0 skb_release_data+0x10b/0x1a0 napi_consume_skb+0x56/0x150 net_rx_action+0xf0/0x350 ? __napi_schedule+0x79/0x90 __do_softirq+0xc8/0x2b1 __irq_exit_rcu+0xb9/0xf0 common_interrupt+0x82/0xa0 </IRQ> <TASK> asm_common_interrupt+0x22/0x40 RIP: 0010:default_idle+0xb/0x20
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Meta Information
Published
2025-09-15
Last Modified
2025-12-02
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2025-09-15
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2023-53186
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 9 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 5.15 (inc) to 5.15.108 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.25 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 6.2 (inc) to 6.2.12 (exc)
linux linux_kernel 6.3
linux linux_kernel 6.3
linux linux_kernel 6.3
linux linux_kernel 6.3
linux linux_kernel 6.3
linux linux_kernel 6.3
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-362 The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a race condition between coalescing and releasing socket buffers (SKBs). Specifically, when SKBs are cloned and coalescing proceeds, the reference count for page fragments can become inconsistent if one cloned SKB is released during the merging process. This leads to a situation where the kernel may free a page that is still in use, causing use-after-free or double-free errors, which can destabilize the system or cause crashes.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can cause use-after-free or double-free errors in the Linux kernel, potentially leading to system instability, crashes, or security issues such as memory corruption. This could affect the reliability and security of systems running vulnerable Linux kernel versions.

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