CVE-2023-53549

  • Published: 2025-10-04T16:15:50.143

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

netfilter: ipset: Rework long task execution when adding/deleting entries

When adding/deleting large number of elements in one step in ipset, it can
take a reasonable amount of time and can result in soft lockup errors. The
patch 5f7b51bf09ba (“netfilter: ipset: Limit the maximal range of
consecutive elements to add/delete”) tried to fix it by limiting the max
elements to process at all. However it was not enough, it is still possible
that we get hung tasks. Lowering the limit is not reasonable, so the
approach in this patch is as follows: rely on the method used at resizing
sets and save the state when we reach a smaller internal batch limit,
unlock/lock and proceed from the saved state. Thus we can avoid long
continuous tasks and at the same time removed the limit to add/delete large
number of elements in one step.

The nfnl mutex is held during the whole operation which prevents one to
issue other ipset commands in parallel.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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How to fix CVE-2023-53549

CVE-2023-53549 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: Rework long task execution when adding/deleting entries When adding/deleting large number of elements in one step in ipset, it can take a reasonable amount of time and can result in soft lockup errors. The patch 5f7b51bf09ba (“netfilter: ipset: Limit the maximal range of […]

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

Oct 04, 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.