CVE-2023-53601

  • Published: 2025-10-04T16:15:56.717

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

bonding: do not assume skb mac_header is set

Drivers must not assume in their ndo_start_xmit() that
skbs have their mac_header set. skb->data is all what is needed.

bonding seems to be one of the last offender as caught by syzbot:

WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 skb_mac_offset include/linux/skbuff.h:2913 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 bond_xmit_hash drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:4170 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 bond_xmit_3ad_xor_slave_get drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5149 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 bond_3ad_xor_xmit drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5186 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 __bond_start_xmit drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5442 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 bond_start_xmit+0x14ab/0x19d0 drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5470
Modules linked in:
CPU: 1 PID: 12155 Comm: syz-executor.3 Not tainted 6.1.30-syzkaller #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/25/2023
RIP: 0010:skb_mac_header include/linux/skbuff.h:2907 [inline]
RIP: 0010:skb_mac_offset include/linux/skbuff.h:2913 [inline]
RIP: 0010:bond_xmit_hash drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:4170 [inline]
RIP: 0010:bond_xmit_3ad_xor_slave_get drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5149 [inline]
RIP: 0010:bond_3ad_xor_xmit drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5186 [inline]
RIP: 0010:__bond_start_xmit drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5442 [inline]
RIP: 0010:bond_start_xmit+0x14ab/0x19d0 drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:5470
Code: 8b 7c 24 30 e8 76 dd 1a 01 48 85 c0 74 0d 48 89 c3 e8 29 67 2e fe e9 15 ef ff ff e8 1f 67 2e fe e9 10 ef ff ff e8 15 67 2e fe 0b e9 45 f8 ff ff e8 09 67 2e fe e9 dc fa ff ff e8 ff 66 2e fe
RSP: 0018:ffffc90002fff6e0 EFLAGS: 00010283
RAX: ffffffff835874db RBX: 000000000000ffff RCX: 0000000000040000
RDX: ffffc90004dcf000 RSI: 00000000000000b5 RDI: 00000000000000b6
RBP: ffffc90002fff8b8 R08: ffffffff83586d16 R09: ffffffff83586584
R10: 0000000000000007 R11: ffff8881599fc780 R12: ffff88811b6a7b7e
R13: 1ffff110236d4f6f R14: ffff88811b6a7ac0 R15: 1ffff110236d4f76
FS: 00007f2e9eb47700(0000) GS:ffff8881f6b00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 0000001b2e421000 CR3: 000000010e6d4000 CR4: 00000000003526e0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:

[] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4925 [inline]
[] __dev_direct_xmit+0x4ef/0x850 net/core/dev.c:4380
[] dev_direct_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3043 [inline]
[] packet_direct_xmit+0x18b/0x300 net/packet/af_packet.c:284
[] packet_snd net/packet/af_packet.c:3112 [inline]
[] packet_sendmsg+0x4a22/0x64d0 net/packet/af_packet.c:3143
[] sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:716 [inline]
[] sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:736 [inline]
[] __sys_sendto+0x472/0x5f0 net/socket.c:2139
[] __do_sys_sendto net/socket.c:2151 [inline]
[] __se_sys_sendto net/socket.c:2147 [inline]
[] __x64_sys_sendto+0xe5/0x100 net/socket.c:2147
[] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[] do_syscall_64+0x2f/0x50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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How to fix CVE-2023-53601

CVE-2023-53601 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bonding: do not assume skb mac_header is set Drivers must not assume in their ndo_start_xmit() that skbs have their mac_header set. skb->data is all what is needed. bonding seems to be one of the last offender as caught by syzbot: WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12155 […]

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.