Linux Kernel up to 6.3.4 __sk_mem_raise_allocated null pointer dereference

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4.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.3.4. It has been classified as critical. The impacted element is the function __sk_mem_raise_allocated. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-54004. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.3.4. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function __sk_mem_raise_allocated. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: udplite: Fix NULL pointer dereference in __sk_mem_raise_allocated(). syzbot reported [0] a null-ptr-deref in sk_get_rmem0() while using IPPROTO_UDPLITE (0x88): 14:25:52 executing program 1: r0 = socket$inet6(0xa, 0x80002, 0x88) We had a similar report [1] for probably sk_memory_allocated_add() in __sk_mem_raise_allocated(), and commit c915fe13cbaa ("udplite: fix NULL pointer dereference") fixed it by setting .memory_allocated for udplite_prot and udplitev6_prot. To fix the variant, we need to set either .sysctl_wmem_offset or .sysctl_rmem. Now UDP and UDPLITE share the same value for .memory_allocated, so we use the same .sysctl_wmem_offset for UDP and UDPLITE. [0]: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] CPU: 0 PID: 6829 Comm: syz-executor.1 Not tainted 6.4.0-rc2-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/28/2023 RIP: 0010:sk_get_rmem0 include/net/sock.h:2907 [inline] RIP: 0010:__sk_mem_raise_allocated+0x806/0x17a0 net/core/sock.c:3006 Code: c1 ea 03 80 3c 02 00 0f 85 23 0f 00 00 48 8b 44 24 08 48 8b 98 38 01 00 00 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 89 da 48 c1 ea 03 <0f> b6 14 02 48 89 d8 83 e0 07 83 c0 03 38 d0 0f 8d 6f 0a 00 00 8b RSP: 0018:ffffc90005d7f450 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffffc90004d92000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffffff88066482 RDI: ffffffff8e2ccbb8 RBP: ffff8880173f7000 R08: 0000000000000005 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000030000 R13: 0000000000000001 R14: 0000000000000340 R15: 0000000000000001 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880b9800000(0063) knlGS:00000000f7f1cb40 CS: 0010 DS: 002b ES: 002b CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000000002e82f000 CR3: 0000000034ff0000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 Call Trace: <TASK> __sk_mem_schedule+0x6c/0xe0 net/core/sock.c:3077 udp_rmem_schedule net/ipv4/udp.c:1539 [inline] __udp_enqueue_schedule_skb+0x776/0xb30 net/ipv4/udp.c:1581 __udpv6_queue_rcv_skb net/ipv6/udp.c:666 [inline] udpv6_queue_rcv_one_skb+0xc39/0x16c0 net/ipv6/udp.c:775 udpv6_queue_rcv_skb+0x194/0xa10 net/ipv6/udp.c:793 __udp6_lib_mcast_deliver net/ipv6/udp.c:906 [inline] __udp6_lib_rcv+0x1bda/0x2bd0 net/ipv6/udp.c:1013 ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x2e7/0x1250 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:437 ip6_input_finish+0x150/0x2f0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:482 NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:303 [inline] NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:297 [inline] ip6_input+0xa0/0xd0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:491 ip6_mc_input+0x40b/0xf50 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:585 dst_input include/net/dst.h:468 [inline] ip6_rcv_finish net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:79 [inline] NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:303 [inline] NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:297 [inline] ipv6_rcv+0x250/0x380 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:309 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0x114/0x180 net/core/dev.c:5491 __netif_receive_skb+0x1f/0x1c0 net/core/dev.c:5605 netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:5691 [inline] netif_receive_skb+0x133/0x7a0 net/core/dev.c:5750 tun_rx_batched+0x4b3/0x7a0 drivers/net/tun.c:1553 tun_get_user+0x2452/0x39c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1989 tun_chr_write_iter+0xdf/0x200 drivers/net/tun.c:2035 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:1868 [inline] new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:491 [inline] vfs_write+0x945/0xd50 fs/read_write.c:584 ksys_write+0x12b/0x250 fs/read_write.c:637 do_syscall_32_irqs_on arch/x86/entry/common.c:112 [inline] __do_fast_syscall_32+0x65/0xf0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:178 do_fast_syscall_32+0x33/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:203 entry_SYSENTER_compat_after_hwframe+0x70/0x82 RIP: 0023:0xf7f21579 Code: b8 01 10 06 03 74 b4 01 10 07 03 74 b0 01 10 08 03 74 d8 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 51 52 55 89 e5 0f 34 cd 80 <5d> 5a 59 c3 90 90 90 90 8d b4 26 00 00 00 00 8d b4 26 00 00 00 00 ---truncated---

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-54004 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279958 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54004), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.19.284, 5.4.244, 5.10.181, 5.15.114, 6.1.31 or 6.3.5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch cc56de054d828935aa37734b479f82fa34b5f9bd/7e3ae83371a4809da6fa3f10ccc430eecef3034a/5014b64e369bdf997935b132a1ac4d64b6e47ad4/387bd0a3af3bdd2b16f8dbef0c9fcccac63000a4/2a112f04629f7839e7cb509b27b8d3b735afe255/f04c8eaf45e7dcdfccba936506b1ec592a369fb9/ad42a35bdfc6d3c0fc4cb4027d7b2757ce665665 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 (279958) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2920). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • SUSE Linux
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 279958
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54004

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 4.19.284/5.4.244/5.10.181/5.15.114/6.1.31/6.3.5
Patch: cc56de054d828935aa37734b479f82fa34b5f9bd/7e3ae83371a4809da6fa3f10ccc430eecef3034a/5014b64e369bdf997935b132a1ac4d64b6e47ad4/387bd0a3af3bdd2b16f8dbef0c9fcccac63000a4/2a112f04629f7839e7cb509b27b8d3b735afe255/f04c8eaf45e7dcdfccba936506b1ec592a369fb9/ad42a35bdfc6d3c0fc4cb4027d7b2757ce665665

Timelineinfo

12/24/2025 Advisory disclosed
12/24/2025 +0 days CVE reserved
12/24/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/30/2026 +37 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-54004 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-54004
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-338147
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2920 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 12/24/2025 15:18
Updated: 01/30/2026 06:04
Changes: 12/24/2025 15:18 (59), 12/25/2025 05:12 (7), 12/25/2025 09:40 (1), 12/26/2025 07:29 (2), 01/30/2026 06:04 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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