Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2023-53517 is rated CRITICAL — exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Affected technology: linux_kernel.
Executive Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation
When doing link mtu negotiation, a malicious peer may send Activate msg
with a very small mtu, e.g. 4 in Shuang's testing, without checking for
the minimum mtu, l->mtu will be set to 4 in tipc_link_proto_rcv(), then
n->links[bearer_id].mtu is set to 4294967228, which is a overflow of
'4 - INT_H_SIZE - EMSG_OVERHEAD' in tipc_link_mss().
With tipc_link.mtu = 4, tipc_link_xmit() kept printing the warning:
tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 5 0 40 4!
tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 15 0 60 4!
And with tipc_link_entry.mtu 4294967228, a huge skb was allocated in
named_distribute(), and when purging it in tipc_link_xmit(), a crash
was even caused:
general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x2100001011000dd: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI
CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.3.0.neta #19
RIP: 0010:
Why It Matters
CVE-2023-53517 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10
Affected Technologies
Vendors: linux
Products: linux_kernel
🛡️What Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2023-53517 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for CVE matching against your container images and OS package manifests. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
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Affected Products
Sources
Related Threat Alerts
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-53517?
CVE-2023-53517 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation
When doing link mtu negotiation, a malicious peer may send Acti
Am I affected?
Check whether your environment runs linux_kernel. If you operate any of those, treat yourself as in scope until you have evidence otherwise. A Vulnios scan will identify the exact assets carrying the affected version.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2023-53517. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
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