Linux Kernel up to 5.15.131/6.1.53/6.5.3 xsk_diag use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.131/6.1.53/6.5.3. Affected by this issue is the function xsk_diag. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2023-53426. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.131/6.1.53/6.5.3. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function xsk_diag. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xsk: Fix xsk_diag use-after-free error during socket cleanup Fix a use-after-free error that is possible if the xsk_diag interface is used after the socket has been unbound from the device. This can happen either due to the socket being closed or the device disappearing. In the early days of AF_XDP, the way we tested that a socket was not bound to a device was to simply check if the netdevice pointer in the xsk socket structure was NULL. Later, a better system was introduced by having an explicit state variable in the xsk socket struct. For example, the state of a socket that is on the way to being closed and has been unbound from the device is XSK_UNBOUND. The commit in the Fixes tag below deleted the old way of signalling that a socket is unbound, setting dev to NULL. This in the belief that all code using the old way had been exterminated. That was unfortunately not true as the xsk diagnostics code was still using the old way and thus does not work as intended when a socket is going down. Fix this by introducing a test against the state variable. If the socket is in the state XSK_UNBOUND, simply abort the diagnostic's netlink operation.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-53426 since 09/17/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 12/11/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265494 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53426), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.132, 6.1.54 or 6.5.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5979985f2d6b565b6cf0f79a62670a2855c0e96c/6436973164ea5506a495f39e56be5aea375e7832/595931912357fa3507e522a7f8a0a76e423c23e4/3e019d8a05a38abb5c85d4f1e85fda964610aa14 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 (265494) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2092). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

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

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.131
• 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
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.1.30
• 6.1.31
• 6.1.32
• 6.1.33
• 6.1.34
• 6.1.35
• 6.1.36
• 6.1.37
• 6.1.38
• 6.1.39
• 6.1.40
• 6.1.41
• 6.1.42
• 6.1.43
• 6.1.44
• 6.1.45
• 6.1.46
• 6.1.47
• 6.1.48
• 6.1.49
• 6.1.50
• 6.1.51
• 6.1.52
• 6.1.53
• 6.5.0
• 6.5.1
• 6.5.2
• 6.5.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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Entryinfo

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

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