# CVE-2023-54265: ipv6: Fix an uninit variable access bug in __ip6_make_skb()

> A local attacker can trigger an uninitialized variable access in the Linux kernel IPv6 stack, potentially leaking sensitive memory contents.

- **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:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54265, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54265, GHSA-wm5w-7h48-37x2, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54265

## What is CVE-2023-54265?

CVE-2023-54265 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 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:

ipv6: Fix an uninit variable access bug in __ip6_make_skb()

Syzbot reported a bug as following:

=====================================================
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in arch_atomic64_inc arch/x86/include/asm/atomic64_64.h:88 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in arch_atomic_long_inc include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:161 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in atomic_long_inc include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:1429 [inline]
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in __ip6_make_skb+0x2f37/0x30f0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1956
 arch_atomic64_inc arch/x86/include/asm/atomic64_64.h:88 [inline]
 arch_atomic_long_inc include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:161 [inline]
 atomic_long_inc include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:1429 [inline]
 __ip6_make_skb+0x2f37/0x30f0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1956
 ip6_finish_skb include/net/ipv6.h:1122 [inline]
 ip6_push_pending_frames+0x10e/0x550 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1987
 rawv6_push_pending_frames+0xb12/0xb90 net/ipv6/raw.c:579
 rawv6_sendmsg+0x297e/0x2e60 net/ipv6/raw.c:922
 inet_sendmsg+0x101/0x180 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:827
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:714 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:734 [inline]
 ____sys_sendmsg+0xa8e/0xe70 net/socket.c:2476
 ___sys_sendmsg+0x2a1/0x3f0 net/socket.c:2530
 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2559 [inline]
 __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2568 [inline]
 __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2566 [inline]
 __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x367/0x540 net/socket.c:2566
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:766 [inline]
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3452 [inline]
 __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x71f/0xce0 mm/slub.c:3491
 __do_kmalloc_node mm/slab_common.c:967 [inline]
 __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x114/0x3b0 mm/slab_common.c:988
 kmalloc_reserve net/core/skbuff.c:492 [inline]
 __alloc_skb+0x3af/0x8f0 net/core/skbuff.c:565
 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1270 [inline]
 __ip6_append_data+0x51c1/0x6bb0 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1684
 ip6_append_data+0x411/0x580 net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1854
 rawv6_sendmsg+0x2882/0x2e60 net/ipv6/raw.c:915
 inet_sendmsg+0x101/0x180 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:827
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:714 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:734 [inline]
 ____sys_sendmsg+0xa8e/0xe70 net/socket.c:2476
 ___sys_sendmsg+0x2a1/0x3f0 net/socket.c:2530
 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2559 [inline]
 __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2568 [inline]
 __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2566 [inline]
 __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x367/0x540 net/socket.c:2566
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

It is because icmp6hdr does not in skb linear region under the scenario
of SOCK_RAW socket. Access icmp6_hdr(skb)->icmp6_type directly will
trigger the uninit variable access bug.

Use a local variable icmp6_type to carry the correct value in different
scenarios.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54265?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54265?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54265 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54265 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54265 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54265 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 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-2023-54265 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-2023-54265/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54265/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54265
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54265
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54265

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54265/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.