CVE-2023-53190

  • Published: 2025-09-15T14:15:41.277

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

vxlan: Fix memory leaks in error path

The memory allocated by vxlan_vnigroup_init() is not freed in the error
path, leading to memory leaks [1]. Fix by calling
vxlan_vnigroup_uninit() in the error path.

The leaks can be reproduced by annotating gro_cells_init() with
ALLOW_ERROR_INJECTION() and then running:

# echo “100” > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/probability
# echo “1” > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/times
# echo “gro_cells_init” > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/inject
# printf %#x -12 > /sys/kernel/debug/fail_function/gro_cells_init/retval
# ip link add name vxlan0 type vxlan dstport 4789 external vnifilter
RTNETLINK answers: Cannot allocate memory

[1]
unreferenced object 0xffff88810db84a00 (size 512):
comm “ip”, pid 330, jiffies 4295010045 (age 66.016s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
f8 d5 76 0e 81 88 ff ff 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 ..v………….
03 00 04 00 48 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 04 00 01 00 ….H………..
backtrace:
[] kmalloc_trace+0x2a/0x60
[] vxlan_vnigroup_init+0x4c/0x160
[] vxlan_init+0x1ae/0x280
[] register_netdevice+0x57a/0x16d0
[] __vxlan_dev_create+0x7c7/0xa50
[] vxlan_newlink+0xd6/0x130
[] __rtnl_newlink+0x112b/0x18a0
[] rtnl_newlink+0x6c/0xa0
[] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x43f/0xd40
[] netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x440
[] netlink_unicast+0x53f/0x810
[] netlink_sendmsg+0x958/0xe70
[] ____sys_sendmsg+0x78f/0xa90
[] ___sys_sendmsg+0x13a/0x1e0
[] __sys_sendmsg+0x11c/0x1f0
[] do_syscall_64+0x38/0x80
unreferenced object 0xffff88810e76d5f8 (size 192):
comm “ip”, pid 330, jiffies 4295010045 (age 66.016s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 db e1 4f e7 00 00 00 00 ……….O…..
08 d6 76 0e 81 88 ff ff 08 d6 76 0e 81 88 ff ff ..v…….v…..
backtrace:
[] __kmalloc_node+0x4e/0x90
[] kvmalloc_node+0xa6/0x1f0
[] bucket_table_alloc.isra.0+0x83/0x460
[] rhashtable_init+0x43b/0x7c0
[] vxlan_vnigroup_init+0x6c/0x160
[] vxlan_init+0x1ae/0x280
[] register_netdevice+0x57a/0x16d0
[] __vxlan_dev_create+0x7c7/0xa50
[] vxlan_newlink+0xd6/0x130
[] __rtnl_newlink+0x112b/0x18a0
[] rtnl_newlink+0x6c/0xa0
[] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x43f/0xd40
[] netlink_rcv_skb+0x170/0x440
[] netlink_unicast+0x53f/0x810
[] netlink_sendmsg+0x958/0xe70
[] ____sys_sendmsg+0x78f/0xa90

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

No vendor taxonomy on this entry.

Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2023-53190

CVE-2023-53190 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: Fix memory leaks in error path The memory allocated by vxlan_vnigroup_init() is not freed in the error path, leading to memory leaks [1]. Fix by calling vxlan_vnigroup_uninit() in the error path. The leaks can be reproduced by annotating gro_cells_init() with ALLOW_ERROR_INJECTION() and then running: […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Sep 15, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.