# CVE-2023-52843: llc: verify mac len before reading mac header

> A missing length check in the Linux kernel LLC module allows local attackers to trigger a kernel crash via crafted network packets.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52843, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52843, GHSA-jm7v-c85h-4vvr, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52843

## What is CVE-2023-52843?

CVE-2023-52843 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

llc: verify mac len before reading mac header

LLC reads the mac header with eth_hdr without verifying that the skb
has an Ethernet header.

Syzbot was able to enter llc_rcv on a tun device. Tun can insert
packets without mac len and with user configurable skb->protocol
(passing a tun_pi header when not configuring IFF_NO_PI).

    BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in llc_station_ac_send_test_r net/llc/llc_station.c:81 [inline]
    BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in llc_station_rcv+0x6fb/0x1290 net/llc/llc_station.c:111
    llc_station_ac_send_test_r net/llc/llc_station.c:81 [inline]
    llc_station_rcv+0x6fb/0x1290 net/llc/llc_station.c:111
    llc_rcv+0xc5d/0x14a0 net/llc/llc_input.c:218
    __netif_receive_skb_one_core net/core/dev.c:5523 [inline]
    __netif_receive_skb+0x1a6/0x5a0 net/core/dev.c:5637
    netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:5723 [inline]
    netif_receive_skb+0x58/0x660 net/core/dev.c:5782
    tun_rx_batched+0x3ee/0x980 drivers/net/tun.c:1555
    tun_get_user+0x54c5/0x69c0 drivers/net/tun.c:2002

Add a mac_len test before all three eth_hdr(skb) calls under net/llc.

There are further uses in include/net/llc_pdu.h. All these are
protected by a test skb->protocol == ETH_P_802_2. Which does not
protect against this tun scenario.

But the mac_len test added in this patch in llc_fixup_skb will
indirectly protect those too. That is called from llc_rcv before any
other LLC code.

It is tempting to just add a blanket mac_len check in llc_rcv, but
not sure whether that could break valid LLC paths that do not assume
an Ethernet header. 802.2 LLC may be used on top of non-802.3
protocols in principle. The below referenced commit shows that used
to, on top of Token Ring.

At least one of the three eth_hdr uses goes back to before the start
of git history. But the one that syzbot exercises is introduced in
this commit. That commit is old enough (2008), that effectively all
stable kernels should receive this.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52843?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52843?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52843 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52843 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52843 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52843 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52843 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52843/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52843/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52843
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52843
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52843

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52843/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.