# CVE-2023-52845: tipc: Change nla_policy for bearer-related names to NLA_NUL_STRING

> A local attacker can trigger an uninitialized memory access in the TIPC subsystem, potentially leaking sensitive kernel memory contents.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52845, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52845, GHSA-5p87-vhr3-gp4q, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52845

## What is CVE-2023-52845?

CVE-2023-52845 is a high-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:

tipc: Change nla_policy for bearer-related names to NLA_NUL_STRING

syzbot reported the following uninit-value access issue [1]:

=====================================================
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in strlen lib/string.c:418 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in strstr+0xb8/0x2f0 lib/string.c:756
 strlen lib/string.c:418 [inline]
 strstr+0xb8/0x2f0 lib/string.c:756
 tipc_nl_node_reset_link_stats+0x3ea/0xb50 net/tipc/node.c:2595
 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit net/netlink/genetlink.c:971 [inline]
 genl_family_rcv_msg net/netlink/genetlink.c:1051 [inline]
 genl_rcv_msg+0x11ec/0x1290 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1066
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x371/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2545
 genl_rcv+0x40/0x60 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1075
 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1342 [inline]
 netlink_unicast+0xf47/0x1250 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1368
 netlink_sendmsg+0x1238/0x13d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1910
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:753 [inline]
 ____sys_sendmsg+0x9c2/0xd60 net/socket.c:2541
 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2595
 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2624 [inline]
 __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2633 [inline]
 __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2631 [inline]
 __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x307/0x490 net/socket.c:2631
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook+0x12f/0xb70 mm/slab.h:767
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3478 [inline]
 kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x577/0xa80 mm/slub.c:3523
 kmalloc_reserve+0x13d/0x4a0 net/core/skbuff.c:559
 __alloc_skb+0x318/0x740 net/core/skbuff.c:650
 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1286 [inline]
 netlink_alloc_large_skb net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1214 [inline]
 netlink_sendmsg+0xb34/0x13d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1885
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:730 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:753 [inline]
 ____sys_sendmsg+0x9c2/0xd60 net/socket.c:2541
 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2595
 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2624 [inline]
 __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2633 [inline]
 __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2631 [inline]
 __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x307/0x490 net/socket.c:2631
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

TIPC bearer-related names including link names must be null-terminated
strings. If a link name which is not null-terminated is passed through
netlink, strstr() and similar functions can cause buffer overrun. This
causes the above issue.

This patch changes the nla_policy for bearer-related names from NLA_STRING
to NLA_NUL_STRING. This resolves the issue by ensuring that only
null-terminated strings are accepted as bearer-related names.

syzbot reported similar uninit-value issue related to bearer names [2]. The
root cause of this issue is that a non-null-terminated bearer name was
passed. This patch also resolved this issue.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52845?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52845?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52845 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52845 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-2023-52845 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52845 is a high-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-2023-52845 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-2023-52845/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52845/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52845
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52845
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52845

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52845/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.