CVE-2023-53489: tcp/udp: Fix memleaks of sk and zerocopy skbs with TX timestamp.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tcp/udp: Fix memleaks of sk and zerocopy skbs with TX timestamp.
syzkaller reported [0] memory leaks of an UDP socket and ZEROCOPY
skbs. We can reproduce the problem with these sequences:
sk = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, 0)
sk.setsockopt(SOL_SOCKET, SO_TIMESTAMPING, SOF_TIMESTAMPING_TX_SOFTWARE)
sk.setsockopt(SOL_SOCKET, SO_ZEROCOPY, 1)
sk.sendto(b'', MSG_ZEROCOPY, ('127.0.0.1', 53))
sk.close()
sendmsg() calls msg_zerocopy_alloc(), which allocates a skb, sets
skb->cb->ubuf.refcnt to 1, and calls sock_hold(). Here, struct
ubuf_info_msgzc indirectly holds a refcnt of the socket. When the
skb is sent, __skb_tstamp_tx() clones it and puts the clone into
the socket's error queue with the TX timestamp.
When the original skb is received locally, skb_copy_ubufs() calls
skb_unclone(), and pskb_expand_head() increments skb->cb->ubuf.refcnt.
This additional count is decremented while freeing the skb, but struct
ubuf_info_msgzc still has a refcnt, so __msg_zerocopy_callback() is
not called.
The last refcnt is not released unless we retrieve the TX timestamped
skb by recvmsg(). Since we clear the error queue in inet_sock_destruct()
after the socket's refcnt reaches 0, there is a circular dependency.
If we close() the socket holding such skbs, we never call sock_put()
and leak the count, sk, and skb.
TCP has the same problem, and commit e0c8bccd40fc ("net: stream:
purge sk_error_queue in sk_stream_kill_queues()") tried to fix it
by calling skb_queue_purge() during close(). However, there is a
small chance that skb queued in a qdisc or device could be put
into the error queue after the skb_queue_purge() call.
In __skb_tstamp_tx(), the cloned skb should not have a reference
to the ubuf to remove the circular dependency, but skb_clone() does
not call skb_copy_ubufs() for zerocopy skb. So, we need to call
skb_orphan_frags_rx() for the cloned skb to call skb_copy_ubufs().
[0]:
BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff88800c6d2d00 (size 1152):
comm "syz-executor392", pid 264, jiffies 4294785440 (age 13.044s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 cd af e8 81 00 00 00 00 ................
02 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............
backtrace:
[<0000000055636812>] sk_prot_alloc+0x64/0x2a0 net/core/sock.c:2024
[<0000000054d77b7a>] sk_alloc+0x3b/0x800 net/core/sock.c:2083
[<0000000066f3c7e0>] inet_create net/ipv4/af_inet.c:319 [inline]
[<0000000066f3c7e0>] inet_create+0x31e/0xe40 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:245
[<000000009b83af97>] __sock_create+0x2ab/0x550 net/socket.c:1515
[<00000000b9b11231>] sock_create net/socket.c:1566 [inline]
[<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket_create net/socket.c:1603 [inline]
[<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket_create net/socket.c:1588 [inline]
[<00000000b9b11231>] __sys_socket+0x138/0x250 net/socket.c:1636
[<000000004fb45142>] __do_sys_socket net/socket.c:1649 [inline]
[<000000004fb45142>] __se_sys_socket net/socket.c:1647 [inline]
[<000000004fb45142>] __x64_sys_socket+0x73/0xb0 net/socket.c:1647
[<0000000066999e0e>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<0000000066999e0e>] do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<0000000017f238c1>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff888017633a00 (size 240):
comm "syz-executor392", pid 264, jiffies 4294785440 (age 13.044s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2d 6d 0c 80 88 ff ff .........-m.....
backtrace:
[<000000002b1c4368>] __alloc_skb+0x229/0x320 net/core/skbuff.c:497
[<00000000143579a6>] alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1265 [inline]
[<00000000143579a6>] sock_omalloc+0xaa/0x190 net/core/sock.c:2596
[<00000000be626478>] msg_zerocopy_alloc net/core/skbuff.c:1294 [inline]
[<00000000be626478>]
---truncated---
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-53489 is a Linux kernel memory leak involving TCP/UDP sockets that use zero-copy sends with transmit timestamping. A local process can cause socket and packet-buffer references to remain allocated. The business concern is resource exhaustion on affected Linux systems, especially shared hosts or systems running untrusted workloads.
Executive priority
Schedule remediation through normal kernel patch cycles, with faster handling for multi-tenant or untrusted workload environments. There is no cited active exploitation, but a kernel memory leak can create availability risk if reachable by local processes.
Technical view
The bug is a circular reference between socket state, zerocopy skb ubuf references, and TX timestamp clones queued on the socket error queue. The kernel fix changes timestamp clone handling so cloned skbs do not retain the problematic zerocopy reference. The source lists Linux stable fixes across multiple kernel branches.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant on Linux systems with affected kernel versions where local users, containers, or applications can create TCP/UDP sockets using zero-copy and TX timestamping. Remote-only exposure is not supported by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The CVE record cites syzkaller reproduction and memory leak traces. The bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation, public weaponization, privilege escalation, or data disclosure. Impact should be treated as potential local denial of service until vendor scoring clarifies severity.
Researcher notes
The affected condition requires specific socket behavior: zerocopy sends combined with TX timestamping and error-queue lifecycle handling. The source bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, or distro-specific package status. Avoid broad product claims beyond Linux kernel versions and vendor backports.
Mitigation direction
Apply vendor kernel updates containing the referenced Linux stable fixes.
Prioritize shared hosts, container platforms, and systems running untrusted local workloads.
Track distribution advisories for backported fixes and package-specific affected versions.
Reboot into the fixed kernel after updating; installed packages alone are insufficient.
If patching is delayed, follow vendor guidance for local workload isolation controls.
Validation and detection
Confirm the running kernel version, not only the installed package version.
Map the kernel package to vendor advisories or the referenced stable commits.
Verify affected shared or multi-tenant systems have been updated and rebooted.
Review monitoring for unexplained kernel memory growth on high-risk systems.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Potential ATT&CK relevance
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CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
Oct 1, 2025, 11:45 UTC (UTC+00:00)
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