CVE-2023-53667
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-10-07

Last updated on: 2026-02-26

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: cdc_ncm: Deal with too low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize Currently in cdc_ncm_check_tx_max(), if dwNtbOutMaxSize is lower than the calculated "min" value, but greater than zero, the logic sets tx_max to dwNtbOutMaxSize. This is then used to allocate a new SKB in cdc_ncm_fill_tx_frame() where all the data is handled. For small values of dwNtbOutMaxSize the memory allocated during alloc_skb(dwNtbOutMaxSize, GFP_ATOMIC) will have the same size, due to how size is aligned at alloc time: size = SKB_DATA_ALIGN(size); size += SKB_DATA_ALIGN(sizeof(struct skb_shared_info)); Thus we hit the same bug that we tried to squash with commit 2be6d4d16a084 ("net: cdc_ncm: Allow for dwNtbOutMaxSize to be unset or zero") Low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize do not cause an issue presently because at alloc_skb() time more memory (512b) is allocated than required for the SKB headers alone (320b), leaving some space (512b - 320b = 192b) for CDC data (172b). However, if more elements (for example 3 x u64 = [24b]) were added to one of the SKB header structs, say 'struct skb_shared_info', increasing its original size (320b [320b aligned]) to something larger (344b [384b aligned]), then suddenly the CDC data (172b) no longer fits in the spare SKB data area (512b - 384b = 128b). Consequently the SKB bounds checking semantics fails and panics: skbuff: skb_over_panic: text:ffffffff831f755b len:184 put:172 head:ffff88811f1c6c00 data:ffff88811f1c6c00 tail:0xb8 end:0x80 dev:<NULL> ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:113! invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN CPU: 0 PID: 57 Comm: kworker/0:2 Not tainted 5.15.106-syzkaller-00249-g19c0ed55a470 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/14/2023 Workqueue: mld mld_ifc_work RIP: 0010:skb_panic net/core/skbuff.c:113 [inline] RIP: 0010:skb_over_panic+0x14c/0x150 net/core/skbuff.c:118 [snip] Call Trace: <TASK> skb_put+0x151/0x210 net/core/skbuff.c:2047 skb_put_zero include/linux/skbuff.h:2422 [inline] cdc_ncm_ndp16 drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c:1131 [inline] cdc_ncm_fill_tx_frame+0x11ab/0x3da0 drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c:1308 cdc_ncm_tx_fixup+0xa3/0x100 Deal with too low values of dwNtbOutMaxSize, clamp it in the range [USB_CDC_NCM_NTB_MIN_OUT_SIZE, CDC_NCM_NTB_MAX_SIZE_TX]. We ensure enough data space is allocated to handle CDC data by making sure dwNtbOutMaxSize is not smaller than USB_CDC_NCM_NTB_MIN_OUT_SIZE.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-10-07
Last Modified
2026-02-26
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-10-07
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2023-53667
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.4
linux linux_kernel From 5.5 (inc) to 5.10.181 (inc)
linux linux_kernel 5.15.106
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-476 The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's cdc_ncm network driver when it handles a parameter called dwNtbOutMaxSize that is too low but greater than zero. The driver uses this value to allocate memory for network packets. If dwNtbOutMaxSize is too small, the allocated memory may not be sufficient to hold all the necessary data, especially if the size of certain internal structures increases. This can cause the kernel's buffer bounds checking to fail, leading to a kernel panic (crash). The fix clamps dwNtbOutMaxSize to a minimum size to ensure enough memory is allocated and prevent this issue.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash (kernel panic) when handling network packets via the cdc_ncm driver. Such crashes can lead to denial of service, disrupting network connectivity and system availability. It may also affect system stability and reliability, especially on systems using this driver for USB network communication.


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