ghsa-39wr-crm4-gxmv
Vulnerability from github
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign
The semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows:
sk = some_lookup_func()
bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk)
bpf_sk_release(sk)
That is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function therefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be consumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a TCPv4 packet is roughly:
netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock __netif_receive_skb_core: sch_handle_ingress: tcf_classify: bpf_sk_assign() deliver_ptype_list_skb: deliver_skb: ip_packet_type->func == ip_rcv: ip_rcv_core: ip_rcv_finish_core: dst_input: ip_local_deliver: ip_local_deliver_finish: ip_protocol_deliver_rcu: tcp_v4_rcv: __inet_lookup_skb: skb_steal_sock
The existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything happens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with SOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference. skb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put if necessary.
This approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk between bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is violated by unhashed UDP sockets. A new UDP socket is created in TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only added in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound.
When bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn't possible to access unhashed UDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn't a problem. This changed in commit 0c48eefae712 ("sock_map: Lift socket state restriction for datagram sockets"), but the helper wasn't adjusted accordingly. The following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount leak:
- Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap.
- Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount.
- bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE.
- skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to SOCK_RCU_FREE.
- tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put().
Fix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign(). This matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately the goal of bpf_sk_assign().
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2023-53585"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-10-04T16:15:54Z",
"severity": null
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nbpf: reject unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign\n\nThe semantics for bpf_sk_assign are as follows:\n\n sk = some_lookup_func()\n bpf_sk_assign(skb, sk)\n bpf_sk_release(sk)\n\nThat is, the sk is not consumed by bpf_sk_assign. The function\ntherefore needs to make sure that sk lives long enough to be\nconsumed from __inet_lookup_skb. The path through the stack for a\nTCPv4 packet is roughly:\n\n netif_receive_skb_core: takes RCU read lock\n __netif_receive_skb_core:\n sch_handle_ingress:\n tcf_classify:\n bpf_sk_assign()\n deliver_ptype_list_skb:\n deliver_skb:\n ip_packet_type-\u003efunc == ip_rcv:\n ip_rcv_core:\n ip_rcv_finish_core:\n dst_input:\n ip_local_deliver:\n ip_local_deliver_finish:\n ip_protocol_deliver_rcu:\n tcp_v4_rcv:\n __inet_lookup_skb:\n skb_steal_sock\n\nThe existing helper takes advantage of the fact that everything\nhappens in the same RCU critical section: for sockets with\nSOCK_RCU_FREE set bpf_sk_assign never takes a reference.\nskb_steal_sock then checks SOCK_RCU_FREE again and does sock_put\nif necessary.\n\nThis approach assumes that SOCK_RCU_FREE is never set on a sk\nbetween bpf_sk_assign and skb_steal_sock, but this invariant is\nviolated by unhashed UDP sockets. A new UDP socket is created\nin TCP_CLOSE state but without SOCK_RCU_FREE set. That flag is only\nadded in udp_lib_get_port() which happens when a socket is bound.\n\nWhen bpf_sk_assign was added it wasn\u0027t possible to access unhashed\nUDP sockets from BPF, so this wasn\u0027t a problem. This changed\nin commit 0c48eefae712 (\"sock_map: Lift socket state restriction\nfor datagram sockets\"), but the helper wasn\u0027t adjusted accordingly.\nThe following sequence of events will therefore lead to a refcount\nleak:\n\n1. Add socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM) to a sockmap.\n2. Pull socket out of sockmap and bpf_sk_assign it. Since\n SOCK_RCU_FREE is not set we increment the refcount.\n3. bind() or connect() the socket, setting SOCK_RCU_FREE.\n4. skb_steal_sock will now set refcounted = false due to\n SOCK_RCU_FREE.\n5. tcp_v4_rcv() skips sock_put().\n\nFix the problem by rejecting unhashed sockets in bpf_sk_assign().\nThis matches the behaviour of __inet_lookup_skb which is ultimately\nthe goal of bpf_sk_assign().",
"id": "GHSA-39wr-crm4-gxmv",
"modified": "2025-10-04T18:31:15Z",
"published": "2025-10-04T18:31:15Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53585"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d4522f59fb748a54446846522941a4f09da63e9"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/67312adc96b5a585970d03b62412847afe2c6b01"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/791a12102e5191dcb6ce0b3a99d71b5a2802d12a"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7dcbc0bb0e5cc1823923744befce59ac353135e6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8aa43cfbb68b25119d2ced14ec717173e2901fa2"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0ce0fb76610d5fad31f56f2ca8241a2a6717a1b"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
Sightings
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