CVE-2023-52986

MEDIUM
Published Mar 27, 2025 Modified Oct 29, 2025 CWE-674

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Check for any of tcp_bpf_prots when cloning a listener A listening socket linked to a sockmap has its sk_prot overridden. It points to one of the struct proto variants in tcp_bpf_prots. The variant depends on the socket's family and which sockmap programs are attached. A child socket cloned from a TCP listener initially inherits their sk_prot. But before cloning is finished, we restore the child's proto to the listener's original non-tcp_bpf_prots one. This happens in tcp_create_openreq_child -> tcp_bpf_clone. Today, in tcp_bpf_clone we detect if the child's proto should be restored by checking only for the TCP_BPF_BASE proto variant. This is not correct. The sk_prot of listening socket linked to a sockmap can point to to any variant in tcp_bpf_prots. If the listeners sk_prot happens to be not the TCP_BPF_BASE variant, then the child socket unintentionally is left if the inherited sk_prot by tcp_bpf_clone. This leads to issues like infinite recursion on close [1], because the child state is otherwise not set up for use with tcp_bpf_prot operations. Adjust the check in tcp_bpf_clone to detect all of tcp_bpf_prots variants. Note that it wouldn't be sufficient to check the socket state when overriding the sk_prot in tcp_bpf_update_proto in order to always use the TCP_BPF_BASE variant for listening sockets. Since commit b8b8315e39ff ("bpf, sockmap: Remove unhash handler for BPF sockmap usage") it is possible for a socket to transition to TCP_LISTEN state while already linked to a sockmap, e.g. connect() -> insert into map -> connect(AF_UNSPEC) -> listen(). [1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-674 CWE-674

Affected Products

Vendor Product
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52986? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Check for any of tcp_bpf_prots when cloning a listener A listening socket linked to a sockmap has its sk_prot overridden. It points to one of the struct proto variants in tcp_bpf_prots. The variant depends on the socket's family and which sockmap programs are attached. A child socket cloned from a TCP listener initially inherits their sk_prot. But before cloning is finished, we restore the child's proto to the listener's original non-tcp_bpf_prots one. This happens in tcp_create_openreq_child -> tcp_bpf_clone. Today, in tcp_bpf_clone we detect if the child's proto should be restored by checking only for the TCP_BPF_BASE proto variant. This is not correct. The sk_prot of listening socket linked to a sockmap can point to to any variant in tcp_bpf_prots. If the listeners sk_prot happens to be not the TCP_BPF_BASE variant, then the child socket unintentionally is left if the inherited sk_prot by tcp_bpf_clone. This leads to issues like infinite recursion on close [1], because the child state is otherwise not set up for use with tcp_bpf_prot operations. Adjust the check in tcp_bpf_clone to detect all of tcp_bpf_prots variants. Note that it wouldn't be sufficient to check the socket state when overriding the sk_prot in tcp_bpf_update_proto in order to always use the TCP_BPF_BASE variant for listening sockets. Since commit b8b8315e39ff ("bpf, sockmap: Remove unhash handler for BPF sockmap usage") it is possible for a socket to transition to TCP_LISTEN state while already linked to a sockmap, e.g. connect() -> insert into map -> connect(AF_UNSPEC) -> listen(). [1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/ It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2023-52986? +
CVE-2023-52986 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-52986? +
CVE-2023-52986 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-52986? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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