CVE-2023-53343
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-09-17

Last updated on: 2025-12-11

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: icmp6: Fix null-ptr-deref of ip6_null_entry->rt6i_idev in icmp6_dev(). With some IPv6 Ext Hdr (RPL, SRv6, etc.), we can send a packet that has the link-local address as src and dst IP and will be forwarded to an external IP in the IPv6 Ext Hdr. For example, the script below generates a packet whose src IP is the link-local address and dst is updated to 11::. # for f in $(find /proc/sys/net/ -name *seg6_enabled*); do echo 1 > $f; done # python3 >>> from socket import * >>> from scapy.all import * >>> >>> SRC_ADDR = DST_ADDR = "fe80::5054:ff:fe12:3456" >>> >>> pkt = IPv6(src=SRC_ADDR, dst=DST_ADDR) >>> pkt /= IPv6ExtHdrSegmentRouting(type=4, addresses=["11::", "22::"], segleft=1) >>> >>> sk = socket(AF_INET6, SOCK_RAW, IPPROTO_RAW) >>> sk.sendto(bytes(pkt), (DST_ADDR, 0)) For such a packet, we call ip6_route_input() to look up a route for the next destination in these three functions depending on the header type. * ipv6_rthdr_rcv() * ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() * ipv6_srh_rcv() If no route is found, ip6_null_entry is set to skb, and the following dst_input(skb) calls ip6_pkt_drop(). Finally, in icmp6_dev(), we dereference skb_rt6_info(skb)->rt6i_idev->dev as the input device is the loopback interface. Then, we have to check if skb_rt6_info(skb)->rt6i_idev is NULL or not to avoid NULL pointer deref for ip6_null_entry. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 0 PID: 157 Comm: python3 Not tainted 6.4.0-11996-gb121d614371c #35 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:icmp6_send (net/ipv6/icmp.c:436 net/ipv6/icmp.c:503) Code: fe ff ff 48 c7 40 30 c0 86 5d 83 e8 c6 44 1c 00 e9 c8 fc ff ff 49 8b 46 58 48 83 e0 fe 0f 84 4a fb ff ff 48 8b 80 d0 00 00 00 <48> 8b 00 44 8b 88 e0 00 00 00 e9 34 fb ff ff 4d 85 ed 0f 85 69 01 RSP: 0018:ffffc90000003c70 EFLAGS: 00000286 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000001 RCX: 00000000000000e0 RDX: 0000000000000021 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffff888006d72a18 RBP: ffffc90000003d80 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: ffffc90000003d98 R11: 0000000000000040 R12: ffff888006d72a10 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff8880057fb800 R15: ffffffff835d86c0 FS: 00007f9dc72ee740(0000) GS:ffff88807dc00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000000057b2000 CR4: 00000000007506f0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <IRQ> ip6_pkt_drop (net/ipv6/route.c:4513) ipv6_rthdr_rcv (net/ipv6/exthdrs.c:640 net/ipv6/exthdrs.c:686) ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:437 (discriminator 5)) ip6_input_finish (./include/linux/rcupdate.h:781 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:483) __netif_receive_skb_one_core (net/core/dev.c:5455) process_backlog (./include/linux/rcupdate.h:781 net/core/dev.c:5895) __napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:6460) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:6529 net/core/dev.c:6660) __do_softirq (./arch/x86/include/asm/jump_label.h:27 ./include/linux/jump_label.h:207 ./include/trace/events/irq.h:142 kernel/softirq.c:554) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:454 kernel/softirq.c:441) </IRQ> <TASK> __local_bh_enable_ip (kernel/softirq.c:381) __dev_queue_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4231) ip6_finish_output2 (./include/net/neighbour.h:544 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:135) rawv6_sendmsg (./include/net/dst.h:458 ./include/linux/netfilter.h:303 net/ipv6/raw.c:656 net/ipv6/raw.c:914) sock_sendmsg (net/socket.c:725 net/socket.c:748) __sys_sendto (net/socket.c:2134) __x64_sys_sendto (net/socket.c:2146 net/socket.c:2142 net/socket.c:2142) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120) RIP: 0033:0x7f9dc751baea Code: d8 64 89 02 48 c7 c0 ff f ---truncated---
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Meta Information
Published
2025-09-17
Last Modified
2025-12-11
Generated
2026-05-27
AI Q&A
2025-09-17
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-25
NVD
CVE-2023-53343
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 7 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 4.14 (inc) to 4.19.291 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 4.20 (inc) to 5.4.251 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.5 (inc) to 5.10.188 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.121 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.40 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 6.2 (inc) to 6.4.5 (exc)
linux linux_kernel 6.5
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-476 The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's IPv6 ICMP handling code. It occurs when a specially crafted IPv6 packet with certain extension headers (like RPL or SRv6) uses the same link-local address as both source and destination, and is forwarded to an external IP. The kernel fails to properly check if a routing entry is NULL before dereferencing it, leading to a kernel crash (NULL pointer dereference).


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash due to a NULL pointer dereference when processing certain IPv6 packets. This can lead to denial of service (DoS) conditions on affected systems, potentially disrupting network services and system availability.


How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for kernel NULL pointer dereference crashes related to icmp6 and IPv6 extension headers, especially involving packets with link-local source and destination addresses and segment routing headers. The provided example script demonstrates how to generate a test packet that triggers the issue using Python and scapy. You can use similar scripts to test your system. Additionally, checking kernel logs (e.g., dmesg) for Oops messages referencing icmp6_send or NULL pointer dereference in IPv6 handling can help detect exploitation attempts.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling or restricting the processing of IPv6 Segment Routing and related IPv6 extension headers (such as RPL, SRv6) if not needed, as the vulnerability involves these headers. You can disable segment routing by setting /proc/sys/net/*seg6_enabled* files to 0. Also, ensure your Linux kernel is updated to a version where this vulnerability is fixed. Monitoring and filtering suspicious IPv6 packets with link-local source and destination addresses and segment routing headers at network boundaries can help reduce exposure.


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