CVE-2023-53987
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided

Null Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel ping /proc/net/icmp

Publication date: 2025-12-24

Last updated on: 2025-12-24

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ping: Fix potentail NULL deref for /proc/net/icmp. After commit dbca1596bbb0 ("ping: convert to RCU lookups, get rid of rwlock"), we use RCU for ping sockets, but we should use spinlock for /proc/net/icmp to avoid a potential NULL deref mentioned in the previous patch. Let's go back to using spinlock there. Note we can convert ping sockets to use hlist instead of hlist_nulls because we do not use SLAB_TYPESAFE_BY_RCU for ping sockets.

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Meta Information

Published
2025-12-24
Last Modified
2025-12-24
Generated
2026-07-06
AI Q&A
2025-12-24
EPSS Evaluated
2026-07-05
NVD
CVE-2023-53987
EUVD
EUVD-2025-205172

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves a potential NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's ping implementation related to the /proc/net/icmp interface. After a change to use RCU (Read-Copy-Update) lookups for ping sockets, the code did not properly use a spinlock for /proc/net/icmp, which could lead to a NULL dereference. The fix reverts to using a spinlock to prevent this issue.

Impact Analysis

A NULL pointer dereference in kernel code can cause system instability or crashes (kernel panic), potentially leading to denial of service. This could impact system availability if exploited.

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