# 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.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53246, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53246, GHSA-jpvg-r3q7-3w8j, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53246

## 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 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53246?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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

- [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-2023-53246 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53246 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-2023-53246/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53246/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53246
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53246
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53246

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53246/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.