CVE-2023-53825

CVE-2023-53825 is a security vulnerability that is still awaiting full analysis and scoring. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kcm: Fix error handling for SOCK_DGRAM in kcm_sendmsg(). syzkaller found a memory leak in kcm_sendmsg(), and commit c821a88bd720 ("kcm: Fix memory leak in error path of kcm_sendmsg()") suppressed it by updating kcm_tx_msg(head)->last_skb if partial data is copied so that the following sendmsg() will resume from the skb. However, we cannot know how many bytes were copied when we get the error. Thus, we could mess up the MSG_MORE queue. When kcm_sendmsg() fails for SOCK_DGRAM, we should purge the queue as we do so for UDP by udp_flush_pending_frames(). Even without this change, when the error occurred, the following sendmsg() resumed from a wrong skb and the queue was messed up. However, we have yet to get such a report, and only syzkaller stumbled on it. So, this can be changed safely. Note this does not change SOCK_SEQPACKET behaviour.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53825?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kcm: Fix error handling for SOCK_DGRAM in kcm_sendmsg(). syzkaller found a memory leak in kcm_sendmsg(), and commit c821a88bd720 ("kcm: Fix memory leak in error path of kcm_sendmsg()") suppressed it by updating kcm_tx_msg(head)->last_skb if partial data is copied so that the following sendmsg() will resume from the skb. However, we cannot know how many bytes were copied when we get the error. Thus, we could mess up the MSG_MORE queue. When kcm_sendmsg() fails for SOCK_DGRAM, we should purge the queue as we do so for UDP by udp_flush_pending_frames(). Even without this change, when the error occurred, the following sendmsg() resumed from a wrong skb and the queue was messed up. However, we have yet to get such a report, and only syzkaller stumbled on it. So, this can be changed safely. Note this does not change SOCK_SEQPACKET behaviour.
Is CVE-2023-53825 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (13th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53825?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2023-53825 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2023-53825 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-60171.
When was CVE-2023-53825 published?
CVE-2023-53825 was published on 2025-12-09 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References