Kernel crash via overwritten skb control buffer
Published Oct 4, 2025 · Updated Oct 4, 2025
Use-after-free in the Linux ip_vti transmit path allows local users to crash the kernel through crafted VTI IPv6 traffic. The path passes xfrm_decode_session an skb control buffer that an sfb qdisc can overwrite, leaving IP6CB(skb)->nhoff unset and causing decode_session6 to read freed or adjacent slab memory. Exploitation requires locally configuring a VTI device and sfb qdisc, then routing IPv6 packets through it; repeated packets can sustain a crash and the invalid read can disclose kernel-heap data.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux ip_vti transmit path allows local users to crash the kernel through crafted VTI IPv6 traffic. The path passes xfrm_decode_session an skb control buffer that an sfb qdisc can overwrite, leaving IP6CB(skb)->nhoff unset and causing decode_session6 to read freed or adjacent slab memory. Exploitation requires locally configuring a VTI device and sfb qdisc, then routing IPv6 packets through it; repeated packets can sustain a crash and the invalid read can disclose kernel-heap data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-53559
- Published
- Oct 4, 2025
- Updated
- Oct 4, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.19
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <0b4d69539fdea138af2befe08893850c89248068
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <2b05bf5dc437f7891dd409a3eaf5058459391c7a
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <6018a266279b1a75143c7c0804dd08a5fc4c3e0b
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <78e397a43e1c47321a4679cc49a6c4530bf820b9
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <7dfe23659f3677c08a60a0056cda2d91a79c15ca
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <82fb41c5de243e7dfa90f32ca58e35adaff56c1d
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <d34c30442d5e53a33cde79ca163320dbe2432cbd
- Affected versionversion=f855691975bb06373a98711e4cfe2c224244b536 <e1e04cc2ef2c0c0866c19f5627149a76c2baae32
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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