LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-53831: net: read sk->sk_family once in sk_mc_loop()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: read sk->sk_family once in sk_mc_loop() syzbot is playing with IPV6_ADDRFORM quite a lot these days, and managed to hit the WARN_ON_ONCE(1) in sk_mc_loop() We have many more similar issues to fix. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 1593 at net/core/sock.c:782 sk_mc_loop+0x165/0x260 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 1593 Comm: kworker/1:3 Not tainted 6.1.40-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/26/2023 Workqueue: events_power_efficient gc_worker RIP: 0010:sk_mc_loop+0x165/0x260 net/core/sock.c:782 Code: 34 1b fd 49 81 c7 18 05 00 00 4c 89 f8 48 c1 e8 03 42 80 3c 20 00 74 08 4c 89 ff e8 25 36 6d fd 4d 8b 37 eb 13 e8 db 33 1b fd <0f> 0b b3 01 eb 34 e8 d0 33 1b fd 45 31 f6 49 83 c6 38 4c 89 f0 48 RSP: 0018:ffffc90000388530 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffffffff846d9b55 RBX: 0000000000000011 RCX: ffff88814f884980 RDX: 0000000000000102 RSI: ffffffff87ae5160 RDI: 0000000000000011 RBP: ffffc90000388550 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: ffffffff846d9a65 R10: 0000000000000002 R11: ffff88814f884980 R12: dffffc0000000000 R13: ffff88810dbee000 R14: 0000000000000010 R15: ffff888150084000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8881f6b00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000020000180 CR3: 000000014ee5b000 CR4: 00000000003506e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <IRQ> [<ffffffff8507734f>] ip6_finish_output2+0x33f/0x1ae0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:83 [<ffffffff85062766>] __ip6_finish_output net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:200 [inline] [<ffffffff85062766>] ip6_finish_output+0x6c6/0xb10 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:211 [<ffffffff85061f8c>] NF_HOOK_COND include/linux/netfilter.h:298 [inline] [<ffffffff85061f8c>] ip6_output+0x2bc/0x3d0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:232 [<ffffffff852071cf>] dst_output include/net/dst.h:444 [inline] [<ffffffff852071cf>] ip6_local_out+0x10f/0x140 net/ipv6/output_core.c:161 [<ffffffff83618fb4>] ipvlan_process_v6_outbound drivers/net/ipvlan/ipvlan_core.c:483 [inline] [<ffffffff83618fb4>] ipvlan_process_outbound drivers/net/ipvlan/ipvlan_core.c:529 [inline] [<ffffffff83618fb4>] ipvlan_xmit_mode_l3 drivers/net/ipvlan/ipvlan_core.c:602 [inline] [<ffffffff83618fb4>] ipvlan_queue_xmit+0x1174/0x1be0 drivers/net/ipvlan/ipvlan_core.c:677 [<ffffffff8361ddd9>] ipvlan_start_xmit+0x49/0x100 drivers/net/ipvlan/ipvlan_main.c:229 [<ffffffff84763fc0>] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4925 [inline] [<ffffffff84763fc0>] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3644 [inline] [<ffffffff84763fc0>] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x320/0x980 net/core/dev.c:3660 [<ffffffff8494c650>] sch_direct_xmit+0x2a0/0x9c0 net/sched/sch_generic.c:342 [<ffffffff8494d883>] qdisc_restart net/sched/sch_generic.c:407 [inline] [<ffffffff8494d883>] __qdisc_run+0xb13/0x1e70 net/sched/sch_generic.c:415 [<ffffffff8478c426>] qdisc_run+0xd6/0x260 include/net/pkt_sched.h:125 [<ffffffff84796eac>] net_tx_action+0x7ac/0x940 net/core/dev.c:5247 [<ffffffff858002bd>] __do_softirq+0x2bd/0x9bd kernel/softirq.c:599 [<ffffffff814c3fe8>] invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:430 [inline] [<ffffffff814c3fe8>] __irq_exit_rcu+0xc8/0x170 kernel/softirq.c:683 [<ffffffff814c3f09>] irq_exit_rcu+0x9/0x20 kernel/softirq.c:695

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-53831 is a Linux kernel networking bug found by syzbot. The issue involves inconsistent reading of a socket family value in multicast loop handling, causing a kernel warning in tested conditions. Public sources do not provide CVSS, impact rating, or confirmed real-world exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat this as a routine kernel patching item unless vendor guidance raises severity. There is no provided evidence of active exploitation or a rated business-critical impact, but unpatched kernels should still be updated through normal maintenance windows.

Technical view

The kernel fix changes sk_mc_loop() to read sk->sk_family once, addressing a race-like inconsistency triggered around IPV6_ADDRFORM. The trace shows IPv6 output and ipvlan networking paths, but the source bundle does not prove a broad remote exploit path or privilege impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to systems running affected Linux kernel versions or downstream packages that have not incorporated the listed stable fixes. Distribution-specific package status must be checked because the CVE record lists upstream version markers, not vendor package names.

Exploitation context

The record cites syzbot discovery and kernel warning output. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not claim active exploitation, public weaponization, or a confirmed attacker impact beyond the observed kernel warning condition.

Researcher notes

The available record is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, exploitability assessment, or vendor package matrix is supplied. The strongest evidence is the upstream stable fix and syzbot-triggered warning around IPV6_ADDRFORM and sk_mc_loop(). Avoid extrapolating impact without distro or kernel-maintainer guidance.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Linux kernel updates from your distribution vendor.
  • Confirm updates include one of the referenced upstream stable commits.
  • Prioritize internet-facing, container, IPv6, and virtual networking hosts for review.
  • Check vendor advisories for any distribution-specific backport information.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory running kernel versions across Linux systems.
  • Map installed packages to vendor advisories for CVE-2023-53831.
  • Verify patched kernels include the referenced sk_mc_loop() fix.
  • Review kernel logs for related WARN_ON_ONCE networking messages.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
10

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-53831 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
9Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eea, 7ad6848c7e81a603605fad3f3575841aab004eeaunaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.33, 0, 4.14.326, 4.19.295, 5.4.257, 5.10.195, 5.15.132, 6.1.54, 6.5.4, 6.6affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.