# CVE-2023-53863: netlink: do not hard code device address lenth in fdb dumps

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel information leak in netlink FDB dumps by exploiting hardcoded address lengths, potentially exposing uninitialized kernel memory.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 9 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53863, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53863, GHSA-44vj-whpr-3frv, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53863

## What is CVE-2023-53863?

CVE-2023-53863 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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:

netlink: do not hard code device address lenth in fdb dumps

syzbot reports that some netdev devices do not have a six bytes
address [1]

Replace ETH_ALEN by dev->addr_len.

[1] (Case of a device where dev->addr_len = 4)

BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak in instrument_copy_to_user include/linux/instrumented.h:114 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: kernel-infoleak in copyout+0xb8/0x100 lib/iov_iter.c:169
instrument_copy_to_user include/linux/instrumented.h:114 [inline]
copyout+0xb8/0x100 lib/iov_iter.c:169
_copy_to_iter+0x6d8/0x1d00 lib/iov_iter.c:536
copy_to_iter include/linux/uio.h:206 [inline]
simple_copy_to_iter+0x68/0xa0 net/core/datagram.c:513
__skb_datagram_iter+0x123/0xdc0 net/core/datagram.c:419
skb_copy_datagram_iter+0x5c/0x200 net/core/datagram.c:527
skb_copy_datagram_msg include/linux/skbuff.h:3960 [inline]
netlink_recvmsg+0x4ae/0x15a0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1970
sock_recvmsg_nosec net/socket.c:1019 [inline]
sock_recvmsg net/socket.c:1040 [inline]
____sys_recvmsg+0x283/0x7f0 net/socket.c:2722
___sys_recvmsg+0x223/0x840 net/socket.c:2764
do_recvmmsg+0x4f9/0xfd0 net/socket.c:2858
__sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2937 [inline]
__do_sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2960 [inline]
__se_sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2953 [inline]
__x64_sys_recvmmsg+0x397/0x490 net/socket.c:2953
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Uninit was stored to memory at:
__nla_put lib/nlattr.c:1009 [inline]
nla_put+0x1c6/0x230 lib/nlattr.c:1067
nlmsg_populate_fdb_fill+0x2b8/0x600 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4071
nlmsg_populate_fdb net/core/rtnetlink.c:4418 [inline]
ndo_dflt_fdb_dump+0x616/0x840 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4456
rtnl_fdb_dump+0x14ff/0x1fc0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4629
netlink_dump+0x9d1/0x1310 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2268
netlink_recvmsg+0xc5c/0x15a0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1995
sock_recvmsg_nosec+0x7a/0x120 net/socket.c:1019
____sys_recvmsg+0x664/0x7f0 net/socket.c:2720
___sys_recvmsg+0x223/0x840 net/socket.c:2764
do_recvmmsg+0x4f9/0xfd0 net/socket.c:2858
__sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2937 [inline]
__do_sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2960 [inline]
__se_sys_recvmmsg net/socket.c:2953 [inline]
__x64_sys_recvmmsg+0x397/0x490 net/socket.c:2953
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Uninit was created at:
slab_post_alloc_hook+0x12d/0xb60 mm/slab.h:716
slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3451 [inline]
__kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x4ff/0x8b0 mm/slub.c:3490
kmalloc_trace+0x51/0x200 mm/slab_common.c:1057
kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:559 [inline]
__hw_addr_create net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:60 [inline]
__hw_addr_add_ex+0x2e5/0x9e0 net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:118
__dev_mc_add net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:867 [inline]
dev_mc_add+0x9a/0x130 net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:885
igmp6_group_added+0x267/0xbc0 net/ipv6/mcast.c:680
ipv6_mc_up+0x296/0x3b0 net/ipv6/mcast.c:2754
ipv6_mc_remap+0x1e/0x30 net/ipv6/mcast.c:2708
addrconf_type_change net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3731 [inline]
addrconf_notify+0x4d3/0x1d90 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3699
notifier_call_chain kernel/notifier.c:93 [inline]
raw_notifier_call_chain+0xe4/0x430 kernel/notifier.c:461
call_netdevice_notifiers_info net/core/dev.c:1935 [inline]
call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:1973 [inline]
call_netdevice_notifiers+0x1ee/0x2d0 net/core/dev.c:1987
bond_enslave+0xccd/0x53f0 drivers/net/bonding/bond_main.c:1906
do_set_master net/core/rtnetlink.c:2626 [inline]
rtnl_newlink_create net/core/rtnetlink.c:3460 [inline]
__rtnl_newlink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3660 [inline]
rtnl_newlink+0x378c/0x40e0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3673
rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x16a6/0x1840 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6395
netlink_rcv_skb+0x371/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2546
rtnetlink_rcv+0x34/0x40 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6413
netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 [inline]
netlink_unicast+0xf28/0x1230 net/netlink/af_
---truncated---

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53863?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53863?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53863 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53863 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53863 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53863 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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-2023-53863 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2023-53863/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53863/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53863
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53863
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53863

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53863/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.