# CVE-2023-52991: net: fix NULL pointer in skb_segment_list

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's UDP segmentation logic allows remote attackers to cause a system crash via crafted network packets.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 27 Mar 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52991, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52991, GHSA-9h2w-crmf-mr2p, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52991

## What is CVE-2023-52991?

CVE-2023-52991 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Mar 2025. 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:

net: fix NULL pointer in skb_segment_list

Commit 3a1296a38d0c ("net: Support GRO/GSO fraglist chaining.")
introduced UDP listifyed GRO. The segmentation relies on frag_list being
untouched when passing through the network stack. This assumption can be
broken sometimes, where frag_list itself gets pulled into linear area,
leaving frag_list being NULL. When this happens it can trigger
following NULL pointer dereference, and panic the kernel. Reverse the
test condition should fix it.

[19185.577801][    C1] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address:
...
[19185.663775][    C1] RIP: 0010:skb_segment_list+0x1cc/0x390
...
[19185.834644][    C1] Call Trace:
[19185.841730][    C1]  <TASK>
[19185.848563][    C1]  __udp_gso_segment+0x33e/0x510
[19185.857370][    C1]  inet_gso_segment+0x15b/0x3e0
[19185.866059][    C1]  skb_mac_gso_segment+0x97/0x110
[19185.874939][    C1]  __skb_gso_segment+0xb2/0x160
[19185.883646][    C1]  udp_queue_rcv_skb+0xc3/0x1d0
[19185.892319][    C1]  udp_unicast_rcv_skb+0x75/0x90
[19185.900979][    C1]  ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0xd2/0x200
[19185.910003][    C1]  ip_local_deliver_finish+0x44/0x60
[19185.918757][    C1]  __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0x8b/0xa0
[19185.927834][    C1]  process_backlog+0x88/0x130
[19185.935840][    C1]  __napi_poll+0x27/0x150
[19185.943447][    C1]  net_rx_action+0x27e/0x5f0
[19185.951331][    C1]  ? mlx5_cq_tasklet_cb+0x70/0x160 [mlx5_core]
[19185.960848][    C1]  __do_softirq+0xbc/0x25d
[19185.968607][    C1]  irq_exit_rcu+0x83/0xb0
[19185.976247][    C1]  common_interrupt+0x43/0xa0
[19185.984235][    C1]  asm_common_interrupt+0x22/0x40
...
[19186.094106][    C1]  </TASK>

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52991?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52991?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52991 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52991 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-2023-52991 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52991 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Mar 2025. 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-2023-52991 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-2023-52991/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52991/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52991
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52991
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52991

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52991/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.