CVE-2023-53685 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 10/07/2025
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tun: Fix memory leak for detached NAPI queue.
syzkaller reported [0] memory leaks of sk and skb related to the TUN
device with no repro, but we can reproduce it easily with:
struct ifreq ifr = {}
int fd_tun, fd_tmp; char buf[4] = {};
fd_tun = openat(AT_FDCWD, "/dev/net/tun", O_WRONLY, 0); ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_TUN | IFF_NAPI | IFF_MULTI_QUEUE; ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETIFF, &ifr);
ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_DETACH_QUEUE; ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETQUEUE, &ifr);
fd_tmp = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_PACKET, 0); ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_UP; ioctl(fd_tmp, SIOCSIFFLAGS, &ifr);
write(fd_tun, buf, sizeof(buf)); close(fd_tun);
If we enable NAPI and multi-queue on a TUN device, we can put skb into tfile->sk.sk_write_queue after the queue is detached. We should prevent it by checking tfile->detached before queuing skb.
Note this must be done under tfile->sk.sk_write_queue.lock because write() and ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE) can run concurrently. Otherwise, there would be a small race window:
write() ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE) `- tun_get_user `- __tun_detach |- if (tfile->detached) |- tun_disable_queue | `-> false | `- tfile->detached = tun | `- tun_queue_purge |- spin_lock_bh(&queue->lock) `- __skb_queue_tail(queue, skb)
Another solution is to call tun_queue_purge() when closing and reattaching the detached queue, but it could paper over another problems. Also, we do the same kind of test for IFF_NAPI_FRAGS.
[0]:
unreferenced object 0xffff88801edbc800 (size 2048): comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743834 (age 18.756s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............ backtrace: [<000000008c16ea3d>] __do_kmalloc_node mm/slab_common.c:965 [inline]
[<000000008c16ea3d>] __kmalloc+0x4a/0x130 mm/slab_common.c:979
[<000000003addde56>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:563 [inline]
[<000000003addde56>] sk_prot_alloc+0xef/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:2035
[<000000003e20621f>] sk_alloc+0x36/0x2f0 net/core/sock.c:2088
[<0000000028e43843>] tun_chr_open+0x3d/0x190 drivers/net/tun.c:3438
[<000000001b0f1f28>] misc_open+0x1a6/0x1f0 drivers/char/misc.c:165
[<000000004376f706>] chrdev_open+0x111/0x300 fs/char_dev.c:414
[<00000000614d379f>] do_dentry_open+0x2f9/0x750 fs/open.c:920
[<000000008eb24774>] do_open fs/namei.c:3636 [inline]
[<000000008eb24774>] path_openat+0x143f/0x1a30 fs/namei.c:3791
[<00000000955077b5>] do_filp_open+0xce/0x1c0 fs/namei.c:3818
[<00000000b78973b0>] do_sys_openat2+0xf0/0x260 fs/open.c:1356
[<00000000057be699>] do_sys_open fs/open.c:1372 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1388 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1383 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __x64_sys_openat+0x83/0xf0 fs/open.c:1383
[<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_64+0x3c/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<000000004cc4e8c4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc
unreferenced object 0xffff88802f671700 (size 240): comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743854 (age 18.736s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff 68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff h.......h....... 00 c0 7b 2f 80 88 ff ff 00 c8 db 1e 80 88 ff ff ..{/............
backtrace: [<00000000e9d9fdb6>] __alloc_skb+0x223/0x250 net/core/skbuff.c:644
[<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1288 [inline]
[<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb_with_frags+0x6f/0x350 net/core/skbuff.c:6378
[<00000000825f98d7>] sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x3ac/0x3e0 net/core/sock.c:2729
[<00000000e9eb3df3>] tun_alloc_skb drivers/net/tun.c:1529 [inline]
[<
---truncated---
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/01/2026
The vulnerability CVE-2023-53685 addresses a memory leak in the Linux kernel's TUN (Tunnel) network device driver, specifically related to improper handling of NAPI (Network API) queues when they are detached. This flaw arises from a race condition during concurrent operations involving packet writing and queue detachment, leading to unreferenced memory allocations that persist in kernel memory. The issue is particularly significant in environments where TUN devices are actively used for virtual networking, such as in containerization platforms, VPN solutions, and network virtualization frameworks.
The technical root cause lies within the tun_chr_write function and the interaction between NAPI-enabled TUN devices and multi-queue configurations. When a TUN device is configured with both IFF_NAPI and IFF_MULTI_QUEUE flags, and subsequently has a queue detached using IFF_DETACH_QUEUE, the kernel fails to properly check whether the queue has been detached before queuing packets. This oversight allows sk_buff (skb) structures to be enqueued into a detached queue, resulting in memory leaks as these packets cannot be properly freed. The race condition manifests when write() operations and ioctl() calls for queue detachment occur concurrently, as the check for tfile->detached must be performed under proper locking to prevent inconsistent states. According to CWE-362, this represents a race condition vulnerability, and the flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.003 for privilege escalation through kernel memory manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory leaks, potentially leading to system instability and resource exhaustion over time. Attackers could exploit this flaw by repeatedly creating and detaching TUN queues, causing progressive memory consumption that might eventually degrade system performance or trigger out-of-memory conditions. The memory leak affects kernel objects including socket structures and skb buffers, as evidenced by the syzkaller reports showing unreferenced allocations of 2048-byte and 240-byte objects. The fix implemented in the kernel involves adding a proper check for tfile->detached before queuing skbs, ensuring that packets are not enqueued into detached queues, which directly addresses the concurrency issue. This solution aligns with established kernel security practices for preventing use-after-free and memory leak scenarios, and it follows the principle of least privilege by ensuring that only valid, attached queues receive packet data. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper synchronization in kernel-level networking code, especially when dealing with asynchronous operations and shared resources, and represents a common class of issues in device drivers where concurrent access patterns are not properly managed.