Linux Kernel up to 5.15.102/6.1.19/6.2.6 tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser infinite loop

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.102/6.1.19/6.2.6. Affected by this issue is the function tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser. This manipulation causes infinite loop. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2023-53133. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.102/6.1.19/6.2.6. Affected by this vulnerability is the function tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a infinite loop vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-835. The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Fix an infinite loop error when len is 0 in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser() When the buffer length of the recvmsg system call is 0, we got the flollowing soft lockup problem: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 27s! [a.out:6149] CPU: 3 PID: 6149 Comm: a.out Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.2.0+ #30 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:remove_wait_queue+0xb/0xc0 Code: 5e 41 5f c3 cc cc cc cc 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa 0f 1f 44 00 00 41 57 <41> 56 41 55 41 54 55 48 89 fd 53 48 89 f3 4c 8d 6b 18 4c 8d 73 20 RSP: 0018:ffff88811b5978b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88811a7d3780 RCX: ffffffffb7a4d768 RDX: dffffc0000000000 RSI: ffff88811b597908 RDI: ffff888115408040 RBP: 1ffff110236b2f1b R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffff88811a7d37e7 R10: ffffed10234fa6fc R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff88811179b800 R13: 0000000000000001 R14: ffff88811a7d38a8 R15: ffff88811a7d37e0 FS: 00007f6fb5398740(0000) GS:ffff888237180000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000020000000 CR3: 000000010b6ba002 CR4: 0000000000370ee0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> tcp_msg_wait_data+0x279/0x2f0 tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser+0x3c6/0x490 inet_recvmsg+0x280/0x290 sock_recvmsg+0xfc/0x120 ____sys_recvmsg+0x160/0x3d0 ___sys_recvmsg+0xf0/0x180 __sys_recvmsg+0xea/0x1a0 do_syscall_64+0x3f/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc The logic in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser is as follows: msg_bytes_ready: copied = sk_msg_recvmsg(sk, psock, msg, len, flags); if (!copied) { wait data; goto msg_bytes_ready; } In this case, "copied" always is 0, the infinite loop occurs. According to the Linux system call man page, 0 should be returned in this case. Therefore, in tcp_bpf_recvmsg_parser(), if the length is 0, directly return. Also modify several other functions with the same problem.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-53133 since 05/02/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 241826 (EulerOS 2.0 SP10 : kernel (EulerOS-SA-2025-1800)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.103, 6.1.20 or 6.2.7 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 4a476285f6d2921c3c9faa494eab83b78f78fc55/f45cf3ae3068e70e2c7f3e24a7f8e8aa99511f03/bf0579989de64d36e177c0611c685dc4a91457a7/d900f3d20cc3169ce42ec72acc850e662a4d4db2 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (241826) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0932). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.102
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4
• 6.2.5
• 6.2.6

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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