CVE-2023-53246 cifs: fix DFS traversal oops without CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL
A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel CIFS module causes a system crash when accessing DFS referrals with specific configuration options disabled.
- 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
What is CVE-2023-53246?
CVE-2023-53246 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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:
cifs: fix DFS traversal oops without CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL
When compiled with CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL disabled, cifs_dfs_d_automount is NULL. cifs.ko logic for mapping CIFS_FATTR_DFS_REFERRAL attributes to S_AUTOMOUNT and corresponding dentry flags is retained regardless of CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL, leading to a NULL pointer dereference in VFS follow_automount() when traversing a DFS referral link: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ... Call Trace: <TASK> __traverse_mounts+0xb5/0x220 ? cifs_revalidate_mapping+0x65/0xc0 [cifs] step_into+0x195/0x610 ? lookup_fast+0xe2/0xf0 path_lookupat+0x64/0x140 filename_lookup+0xc2/0x140 ? __create_object+0x299/0x380 ? kmem_cache_alloc+0x119/0x220 ? user_path_at_empty+0x31/0x50 user_path_at_empty+0x31/0x50 __x64_sys_chdir+0x2a/0xd0 ? exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0xca/0x100 do_syscall_64+0x42/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc
This fix adds an inline cifs_dfs_d_automount() {return -EREMOTE} handler when CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL is disabled. An alternative would be to avoid flagging S_AUTOMOUNT, etc. without CONFIG_CIFS_DFS_UPCALL. This approach was chosen as it provides more control over the error path.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53246?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53246?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53246 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53246 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53246, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53246, GHSA-jpvg-r3q7-3w8j, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53246.