# CVE-2023-53053: erspan: do not use skb_mac_header() in ndo_start_xmit()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's ERSPAN driver can cause a system crash when processing specific network packets.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 2 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53053, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53053, GHSA-hhvq-g7gp-5v2c, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53053

## What is CVE-2023-53053?

CVE-2023-53053 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. 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:

erspan: do not use skb_mac_header() in ndo_start_xmit()

Drivers should not assume skb_mac_header(skb) == skb->data in their
ndo_start_xmit().

Use skb_network_offset() and skb_transport_offset() which
better describe what is needed in erspan_fb_xmit() and
ip6erspan_tunnel_xmit()

syzbot reported:
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5083 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2873 skb_mac_header include/linux/skbuff.h:2873 [inline]
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5083 at include/linux/skbuff.h:2873 ip6erspan_tunnel_xmit+0x1d9c/0x2d90 net/ipv6/ip6_gre.c:962
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 PID: 5083 Comm: syz-executor406 Not tainted 6.3.0-rc2-syzkaller-00866-gd4671cb96fa3 #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 03/02/2023
RIP: 0010:skb_mac_header include/linux/skbuff.h:2873 [inline]
RIP: 0010:ip6erspan_tunnel_xmit+0x1d9c/0x2d90 net/ipv6/ip6_gre.c:962
Code: 04 02 41 01 de 84 c0 74 08 3c 03 0f 8e 1c 0a 00 00 45 89 b4 24 c8 00 00 00 c6 85 77 fe ff ff 01 e9 33 e7 ff ff e8 b4 27 a1 f8 <0f> 0b e9 b6 e7 ff ff e8 a8 27 a1 f8 49 8d bf f0 0c 00 00 48 b8 00
RSP: 0018:ffffc90003b2f830 EFLAGS: 00010293
RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 000000000000ffff RCX: 0000000000000000
RDX: ffff888021273a80 RSI: ffffffff88e1bd4c RDI: 0000000000000003
RBP: ffffc90003b2f9d8 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: 000000000000ffff
R10: 000000000000ffff R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff88802b28da00
R13: 00000000000000d0 R14: ffff88807e25b6d0 R15: ffff888023408000
FS: 0000555556a61300(0000) GS:ffff8880b9800000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 000055e5b11eb6e8 CR3: 0000000027c1b000 CR4: 00000000003506f0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
<TASK>
__netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4900 [inline]
netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:4914 [inline]
__dev_direct_xmit+0x504/0x730 net/core/dev.c:4300
dev_direct_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3088 [inline]
packet_xmit+0x20a/0x390 net/packet/af_packet.c:285
packet_snd net/packet/af_packet.c:3075 [inline]
packet_sendmsg+0x31a0/0x5150 net/packet/af_packet.c:3107
sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:724 [inline]
sock_sendmsg+0xde/0x190 net/socket.c:747
__sys_sendto+0x23a/0x340 net/socket.c:2142
__do_sys_sendto net/socket.c:2154 [inline]
__se_sys_sendto net/socket.c:2150 [inline]
__x64_sys_sendto+0xe1/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2150
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x39/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
RIP: 0033:0x7f123aaa1039
Code: 28 00 00 00 75 05 48 83 c4 28 c3 e8 b1 14 00 00 90 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 c0 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007ffc15d12058 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002c
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f123aaa1039
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000003
RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000020000040 R09: 0000000000000014
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007f123aa648c0
R13: 431bde82d7b634db R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53053?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53053?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53053 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53053 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-2023-53053 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53053 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. 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-2023-53053 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-2023-53053/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53053/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53053
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53053
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53053

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53053/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.