# CVE-2023-53516: macvlan: add forgotten nla_policy for IFLA_MACVLAN_BC_CUTOFF

> A missing netlink policy in the Linux kernel macvlan driver allows heap out-of-bounds reads, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **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:** 1 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53516, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53516, GHSA-m235-57qr-6fh8, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53516

## What is CVE-2023-53516?

CVE-2023-53516 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:

macvlan: add forgotten nla_policy for IFLA_MACVLAN_BC_CUTOFF

The previous commit 954d1fa1ac93 ("macvlan: Add netlink attribute for
broadcast cutoff") added one additional attribute named
IFLA_MACVLAN_BC_CUTOFF to allow broadcast cutfoff.

However, it forgot to describe the nla_policy at macvlan_policy
(drivers/net/macvlan.c). Hence, this suppose NLA_S32 (4 bytes) integer
can be faked as empty (0 bytes) by a malicious user, which could leads
to OOB in heap just like CVE-2023-3773.

To fix it, this commit just completes the nla_policy description for
IFLA_MACVLAN_BC_CUTOFF. This enforces the length check and avoids the
potential OOB read.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53516?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53516?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53516 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53516 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-2023-53516 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53516 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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-2023-53516 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-2023-53516/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53516/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53516
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53516
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53516

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53516/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.