CVE-2023-53657

Kernel crash via premature ICE switchdev transmission

Published Oct 7, 2025 · Updated Oct 7, 2025

A NULL dereference in the Linux ICE driver 5.16 through 6.1.54 and 6.2 through 6.5.4 allows local users to crash the kernel. During switchdev startup, ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit accesses the VSI and backing state before configuration finishes allocating required resources. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, an ICE device in switchdev mode, and transmission during the setup window; a successful trigger causes a kernel crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A NULL dereference in the Linux ICE driver 5.16 through 6.1.54 and 6.2 through 6.5.4 allows local users to crash the kernel. During switchdev startup, ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit accesses the VSI and backing state before configuration finishes allocating required resources. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, an ICE device in switchdev mode, and transmission during the setup window; a successful trigger causes a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53657
Published
Oct 7, 2025
Updated
Oct 7, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, CWE-367, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 7, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 7, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <5760a72b3060150b587eff3e879648c7470efddd
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <63ff5a94649837d980e3b9ef535c793ec8cb0ca7
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7aa529a69e92b9aff585e569d5003f7c15d8d60b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <5760a72b3060150b587eff3e879648c7470efddd; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <63ff5a94649837d980e3b9ef535c793ec8cb0ca7; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7aa529a69e92b9aff585e569d5003f7c15d8d60b

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use Race Condition
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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