CVE-2023-53619

HIGH

Linux Kernel - Use-After-Free in Netfilter Conntrack Helper Registration

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: conntrack: Avoid nf_ct_helper_hash uses after free If nf_conntrack_init_start() fails (for example due to a register_nf_conntrack_bpf() failure), the nf_conntrack_helper_fini() clean-up path frees the nf_ct_helper_hash map. When built with NF_CONNTRACK=y, further netfilter modules (e.g: netfilter_conntrack_ftp) can still be loaded and call nf_conntrack_helpers_register(), independently of whether nf_conntrack initialized correctly. This accesses the nf_ct_helper_hash dangling pointer and causes a uaf, possibly leading to random memory corruption. This patch guards nf_conntrack_helper_register() from accessing a freed or uninitialized nf_ct_helper_hash pointer and fixes possible uses-after-free when loading a conntrack module.

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0020
EPSS Percentile 9.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-416
Status published
Products (27)
linux/Kernel 3.6.0 - 4.14.322linux
linux/Kernel 4.15.0 - 4.19.291linux
linux/Kernel 4.20.0 - 5.4.251linux
linux/Kernel 5.11.0 - 5.15.121linux
linux/Kernel 5.16.0 - 6.1.39linux
linux/Kernel 5.5.0 - 5.10.188linux
linux/Kernel 6.2.0 - 6.4.4linux
Linux/Linux < 3.6
Linux/Linux 12f7a505331e6b2754684b509f2ac8f0011ce644 - 00716f25f9697d02a0d9bd622575c7c7321ba3d0
Linux/Linux 12f7a505331e6b2754684b509f2ac8f0011ce644 - 05561f822f27b9fa88fa5504ddec34bf38833034
... and 17 more
Published Oct 07, 2025
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026