CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2023-53686 — net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit() We should not call trace_handshake_cmd_done_err() if socket lookup has failed. Also we should call trace_handshake_cmd_done_err() before releasing the file, otherwise dereferencing sock->sk can return garbage. This also reverts 7afc6d0a107f ("net/handshake: Fix uninitialized local variable") Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address dfff800000000003 KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f] Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000005 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [dfff800000000003] address between user and kernel address ranges Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 5986 Comm: syz-executor292 Not tainted 6.5.0-rc7-syzkaller-gfe4469582053 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/26/2023 pstate: 80400005 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : handshake_nl_done_doit+0x198/0x9c8 net/handshake/netlink.c:193 lr : handshake_nl_done_doit+0x180/0x9c8 sp : ffff800096e37180 x29: ffff800096e37200 x28: 1ffff00012dc6e34 x27: dfff800000000000 x26: ffff800096e373d0 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 00000000ffffffa8 x23: ffff800096e373f0 x22: 1ffff00012dc6e38 x21: 0000000000000000 x20: ffff800096e371c0 x19: 0000000000000018 x18: 0000000000000000 x17: 0000000000000000 x16: ffff800080516cc4 x15: 0000000000000001 x14: 1fffe0001b14aa3b x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000003 x8 : 0000000000000003 x7 : ffff800080afe47c x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : ffff800080a88078 x2 : 0000000000000001 x1 : 00000000ffffffa8 x0 : 0000000000000000 Call trace: handshake_nl_done_doit+0x198/0x9c8 net/handshake/netlink.c:193 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit net/netlink/genetlink.c:970 [inline] genl_family_rcv_msg net/netlink/genetlink.c:1050 [inline] genl_rcv_msg+0x96c/0xc50 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1067 netlink_rcv_skb+0x214/0x3c4 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2549 genl_rcv+0x38/0x50 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1078 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 [inline] netlink_unicast+0x660/0x8d4 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1365 netlink_sendmsg+0x834/0xb18 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1914 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:725 [inline] sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:748 [inline] ____sys_sendmsg+0x56c/0x840 net/socket.c:2494 ___sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2548 [inline] __sys_sendmsg+0x26c/0x33c net/socket.c:2577 __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2586 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2584 [inline] __arm64_sys_sendmsg+0x80/0x94 net/socket.c:2584 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:37 [inline] invoke_syscall+0x98/0x2b8 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:51 el0_svc_common+0x130/0x23c arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:136 do_el0_svc+0x48/0x58 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:155 el0_svc+0x58/0x16c arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:678 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x84/0xfc arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:696 el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x194 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:591 Code: 12800108 b90043e8 910062b3 d343fe68 (387b6908)

Published Oct 7, 2025 · Updated Oct 28, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.1% (30-day exploitation probability)+0
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.13%
ahead of 3% of scored CVEs · Oct 28, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 1 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 3b3009ea8abb713b022d94fba95ec270cf6e7eae and < 93d69f18edcca282351394c5870bec24cc99d745≥ 3b3009ea8abb713b022d94fba95ec270cf6e7eae and < 82ba0ff7bf0483d962e592017bef659ae022d754version 6.4 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 6.4 and < 6.5.4 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 28, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 28, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 28, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 28, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 28, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 28, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Oct 7, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 28, 2026 – Oct 28, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-476
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99216 Drivers: hv: Don't reset VMBus connection state on error/exit paths 23h
  • CVE-2026-99215 power: supply: core: prevent unregistering a power supply while a callback runs 23h
  • CVE-2026-99207 scsi: target: Disable interrupts while holding delayed_cmd_lock 23h
  • CVE-2026-99208 drm/xe/oa: Zero OA buffer at allocation 23h
  • CVE-2026-99209 drm/xe: skip eviction of a BO with no resource 23h
  • CVE-2026-99210 accel/rocket: clear rdev on device init failure 23h

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2023-53686 is "net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit()", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.13% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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