CVE-2023-53369: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: dcb: choose correct policy to parse DCB_ATTR_BCN The dcbnl_bcn_setcfg uses ...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: dcb: choose correct policy to parse DCB_ATTR_BCN The dcbnl_bcn_setcfg uses erroneous policy to parse tb[DCB_ATTR_BCN], which is introduced in commit 859ee3c43812 ("DCB: Add support for DCB BCN"). Please see the comment in below code static int dcbnl_bcn_setcfg(...) { ... ret = nla_parse_nested_deprecated(..., dcbnl_pfc_up_nest, .. ) // !!! dcbnl_pfc_up_nest for attributes // DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_0 to DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_ALL in enum dcbnl_pfc_up_attrs ... for (i = DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0; i <= DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7; i++) { // !!! DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0 to DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7 in enum dcbnl_bcn_attrs ... value_byte = nla_get_u8(data[i]); ... } ... for (i = DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0; i <= DCB_BCN_ATTR_RI; i++) { // !!! DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0 to DCB_BCN_ATTR_RI in enum dcbnl_bcn_attrs ... value_int = nla_get_u32(data[i]); ... } ... } That is, the nla_parse_nested_deprecated uses dcbnl_pfc_up_nest attributes to parse nlattr defined in dcbnl_pfc_up_attrs. But the following access code fetch each nlattr as dcbnl_bcn_attrs attributes. By looking up the associated nla_policy for dcbnl_bcn_attrs. We can find the beginning part of these two policies are "same". static const struct nla_policy dcbnl_pfc_up_nest[...] = { [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_0] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_1] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_2] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_3] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_4] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_5] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_6] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_7] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, }; static const struct nla_policy dcbnl_bcn_nest[...] = { [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_1] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_2] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_3] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_4] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_5] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_6] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, // from here is somewhat different [DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0] = {.type = NLA_U32}, ... [DCB_BCN_ATTR_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, }; Therefore, the current code is buggy and this nla_parse_nested_deprecated could overflow the dcbnl_pfc_up_nest and use the adjacent nla_policy to parse attributes from DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0. Hence use the correct policy dcbnl_bcn_nest to parse the nested tb[DCB_ATTR_BCN] TLV.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.16%

5.6th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 2.6.29, < 5.4.253	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.190	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.126	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.45	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.4.10	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	6.5	Rc1

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 18, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53369?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: dcb: choose correct policy to parse DCB_ATTR_BCN The dcbnl_bcn_setcfg uses erroneous policy to parse tb[DCB_ATTR_BCN], which is introduced in commit 859ee3c43812 ("DCB: Add support for DCB BCN"). Please see the comment in below code static int dcbnl_bcn_setcfg(...) { ... ret = nla_parse_nested_deprecated(..., dcbnl_pfc_up_nest, .. ) // !!! dcbnl_pfc_up_nest for attributes // DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_0 to DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_ALL in enum dcbnl_pfc_up_attrs ... for (i = DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0; i <= DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7; i++) { // !!! DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0 to DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7 in enum dcbnl_bcn_attrs ... value_byte = nla_get_u8(data[i]); ... } ... for (i = DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0; i <= DCB_BCN_ATTR_RI; i++) { // !!! DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0 to DCB_BCN_ATTR_RI in enum dcbnl_bcn_attrs ... value_int = nla_get_u32(data[i]); ... } ... } That is, the nla_parse_nested_deprecated uses dcbnl_pfc_up_nest attributes to parse nlattr defined in dcbnl_pfc_up_attrs. But the following access code fetch each nlattr as dcbnl_bcn_attrs attributes. By looking up the associated nla_policy for dcbnl_bcn_attrs. We can find the beginning part of these two policies are "same". static const struct nla_policy dcbnl_pfc_up_nest[...] = { [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_0] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_1] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_2] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_3] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_4] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_5] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_6] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_7] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_PFC_UP_ATTR_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, }; static const struct nla_policy dcbnl_bcn_nest[...] = { [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_0] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_1] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_2] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_3] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_4] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_5] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_6] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_7] = {.type = NLA_U8}, [DCB_BCN_ATTR_RP_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, // from here is somewhat different [DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0] = {.type = NLA_U32}, ... [DCB_BCN_ATTR_ALL] = {.type = NLA_FLAG}, }; Therefore, the current code is buggy and this nla_parse_nested_deprecated could overflow the dcbnl_pfc_up_nest and use the adjacent nla_policy to parse attributes from DCB_BCN_ATTR_BCNA_0. Hence use the correct policy dcbnl_bcn_nest to parse the nested tb[DCB_ATTR_BCN] TLV.

How severe is CVE-2023-53369?

CVE-2023-53369 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.16% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53369?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.