# CVE-2023-52881: tcp: do not accept ACK of bytes we never sent

> The Linux kernel TCP stack improperly validates ACK numbers, allowing attackers to bypass security checks by acknowledging bytes never sent.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52881, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52881, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52881

## What is CVE-2023-52881?

CVE-2023-52881 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

tcp: do not accept ACK of bytes we never sent

This patch is based on a detailed report and ideas from Yepeng Pan
and Christian Rossow.

ACK seq validation is currently following RFC 5961 5.2 guidelines:

   The ACK value is considered acceptable only if
   it is in the range of ((SND.UNA - MAX.SND.WND) <= SEG.ACK <=
   SND.NXT).  All incoming segments whose ACK value doesn't satisfy the
   above condition MUST be discarded and an ACK sent back.  It needs to
   be noted that RFC 793 on page 72 (fifth check) says: "If the ACK is a
   duplicate (SEG.ACK < SND.UNA), it can be ignored.  If the ACK
   acknowledges something not yet sent (SEG.ACK > SND.NXT) then send an
   ACK, drop the segment, and return".  The "ignored" above implies that
   the processing of the incoming data segment continues, which means
   the ACK value is treated as acceptable.  This mitigation makes the
   ACK check more stringent since any ACK < SND.UNA wouldn't be
   accepted, instead only ACKs that are in the range ((SND.UNA -
   MAX.SND.WND) <= SEG.ACK <= SND.NXT) get through.

This can be refined for new (and possibly spoofed) flows,
by not accepting ACK for bytes that were never sent.

This greatly improves TCP security at a little cost.

I added a Fixes: tag to make sure this patch will reach stable trees,
even if the 'blamed' patch was adhering to the RFC.

tp->bytes_acked was added in linux-4.2

Following packetdrill test (courtesy of Yepeng Pan) shows
the issue at hand:

0 socket(..., SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP) = 3
+0 setsockopt(3, SOL_SOCKET, SO_REUSEADDR, [1], 4) = 0
+0 bind(3, ..., ...) = 0
+0 listen(3, 1024) = 0

// ---------------- Handshake ------------------- //

// when window scale is set to 14 the window size can be extended to
// 65535 * (2^14) = 1073725440. Linux would accept an ACK packet
// with ack number in (Server_ISN+1-1073725440. Server_ISN+1)
// ,though this ack number acknowledges some data never
// sent by the server.

+0 < S 0:0(0) win 65535 <mss 1400,nop,wscale 14>
+0 > S. 0:0(0) ack 1 <...>
+0 < . 1:1(0) ack 1 win 65535
+0 accept(3, ..., ...) = 4

// For the established connection, we send an ACK packet,
// the ack packet uses ack number 1 - 1073725300 + 2^32,
// where 2^32 is used to wrap around.
// Note: we used 1073725300 instead of 1073725440 to avoid possible
// edge cases.
// 1 - 1073725300 + 2^32 = 3221241997

// Oops, old kernels happily accept this packet.
+0 < . 1:1001(1000) ack 3221241997 win 65535

// After the kernel fix the following will be replaced by a challenge ACK,
// and prior malicious frame would be dropped.
+0 > . 1:1(0) ack 1001

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52881?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52881?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52881 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52881 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-2023-52881 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52881 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 May 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52881 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-2023-52881/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52881/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52881
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52881
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52881

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52881/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.