In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tun: Fix memory leak for detached NAPI queue.

syzkaller reported [0] memory leaks of sk and skb related to the TUN
device with no repro, but we can reproduce it easily with:

struct ifreq ifr = {}
int fd_tun, fd_tmp;
char buf[4] = {};

fd_tun = openat(AT_FDCWD, "/dev/net/tun", O_WRONLY, 0);
ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_TUN | IFF_NAPI | IFF_MULTI_QUEUE;
ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETIFF, &ifr);

ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_DETACH_QUEUE;
ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETQUEUE, &ifr);

fd_tmp = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_PACKET, 0);
ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_UP;
ioctl(fd_tmp, SIOCSIFFLAGS, &ifr);

write(fd_tun, buf, sizeof(buf));
close(fd_tun);

If we enable NAPI and multi-queue on a TUN device, we can put skb into
tfile->sk.sk_write_queue after the queue is detached. We should prevent
it by checking tfile->detached before queuing skb.

Note this must be done under tfile->sk.sk_write_queue.lock because write()
and ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE) can run concurrently. Otherwise, there would
be a small race window:

write() ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE)
`- tun_get_user `- __tun_detach
|- if (tfile->detached) |- tun_disable_queue
| `-> false | `- tfile->detached = tun
| `- tun_queue_purge
|- spin_lock_bh(&queue->lock)
`- __skb_queue_tail(queue, skb)

Another solution is to call tun_queue_purge() when closing and
reattaching the detached queue, but it could paper over another
problems. Also, we do the same kind of test for IFF_NAPI_FRAGS.

[0]:
unreferenced object 0xffff88801edbc800 (size 2048):
comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743834 (age 18.756s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............
backtrace:
[<000000008c16ea3d>] __do_kmalloc_node mm/slab_common.c:965 [inline]
[<000000008c16ea3d>] __kmalloc+0x4a/0x130 mm/slab_common.c:979
[<000000003addde56>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:563 [inline]
[<000000003addde56>] sk_prot_alloc+0xef/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:2035
[<000000003e20621f>] sk_alloc+0x36/0x2f0 net/core/sock.c:2088
[<0000000028e43843>] tun_chr_open+0x3d/0x190 drivers/net/tun.c:3438
[<000000001b0f1f28>] misc_open+0x1a6/0x1f0 drivers/char/misc.c:165
[<000000004376f706>] chrdev_open+0x111/0x300 fs/char_dev.c:414
[<00000000614d379f>] do_dentry_open+0x2f9/0x750 fs/open.c:920
[<000000008eb24774>] do_open fs/namei.c:3636 [inline]
[<000000008eb24774>] path_openat+0x143f/0x1a30 fs/namei.c:3791
[<00000000955077b5>] do_filp_open+0xce/0x1c0 fs/namei.c:3818
[<00000000b78973b0>] do_sys_openat2+0xf0/0x260 fs/open.c:1356
[<00000000057be699>] do_sys_open fs/open.c:1372 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1388 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1383 [inline]
[<00000000057be699>] __x64_sys_openat+0x83/0xf0 fs/open.c:1383
[<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_64+0x3c/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<000000004cc4e8c4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc

unreferenced object 0xffff88802f671700 (size 240):
comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743854 (age 18.736s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff 68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff h.......h.......
00 c0 7b 2f 80 88 ff ff 00 c8 db 1e 80 88 ff ff ..{/............
backtrace:
[<00000000e9d9fdb6>] __alloc_skb+0x223/0x250 net/core/skbuff.c:644
[<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1288 [inline]
[<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb_with_frags+0x6f/0x350 net/core/skbuff.c:6378
[<00000000825f98d7>] sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x3ac/0x3e0 net/core/sock.c:2729
[<00000000e9eb3df3>] tun_alloc_skb drivers/net/tun.c:1529 [inline]
[<
---truncated---

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required Low

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction None

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

The EPSS score is 0.00025.

Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions
Linux Linux unaffected
Version Status Constraints
cde8b15f1aabe327038ee4e0e11dd6b798572f69 affected < 9cae243b9ae25adfe468cd47ceca591f6725b79c
cde8b15f1aabe327038ee4e0e11dd6b798572f69 affected < 0d20210a190f76db9ec35ee4e0fc77e6c7a148f5
cde8b15f1aabe327038ee4e0e11dd6b798572f69 affected < 82b2bc279467c875ec36f8ef820f00997c2a4e8e
Linux Linux affected
Version Status Constraints
3.8 affected —
0 unaffected < 3.8
6.1.30 unaffected ≤ 6.1.*
6.3.4 unaffected ≤ 6.3.*
6.4 unaffected ≤ *

Configuration 1 [-]

OR cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*

No data.

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Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.

Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

References
Link Providers
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d20210a190f76db9ec35ee4e0fc77e6c7a148f5 cve-icon cve-icon
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82b2bc279467c875ec36f8ef820f00997c2a4e8e cve-icon cve-icon
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9cae243b9ae25adfe468cd47ceca591f6725b79c cve-icon cve-icon
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025100710-CVE-2023-53685-68d1@gregkh/T cve-icon
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53685 cve-icon
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53685 cve-icon
History

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-401
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.4:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: Fix memory leak for detached NAPI queue. syzkaller reported [0] memory leaks of sk and skb related to the TUN device with no repro, but we can reproduce it easily with: struct ifreq ifr = {} int fd_tun, fd_tmp; char buf[4] = {}; fd_tun = openat(AT_FDCWD, "/dev/net/tun", O_WRONLY, 0); ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_TUN | IFF_NAPI | IFF_MULTI_QUEUE; ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETIFF, &ifr); ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_DETACH_QUEUE; ioctl(fd_tun, TUNSETQUEUE, &ifr); fd_tmp = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_PACKET, 0); ifr.ifr_flags = IFF_UP; ioctl(fd_tmp, SIOCSIFFLAGS, &ifr); write(fd_tun, buf, sizeof(buf)); close(fd_tun); If we enable NAPI and multi-queue on a TUN device, we can put skb into tfile->sk.sk_write_queue after the queue is detached. We should prevent it by checking tfile->detached before queuing skb. Note this must be done under tfile->sk.sk_write_queue.lock because write() and ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE) can run concurrently. Otherwise, there would be a small race window: write() ioctl(IFF_DETACH_QUEUE) `- tun_get_user `- __tun_detach |- if (tfile->detached) |- tun_disable_queue | `-> false | `- tfile->detached = tun | `- tun_queue_purge |- spin_lock_bh(&queue->lock) `- __skb_queue_tail(queue, skb) Another solution is to call tun_queue_purge() when closing and reattaching the detached queue, but it could paper over another problems. Also, we do the same kind of test for IFF_NAPI_FRAGS. [0]: unreferenced object 0xffff88801edbc800 (size 2048): comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743834 (age 18.756s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............ backtrace: [<000000008c16ea3d>] __do_kmalloc_node mm/slab_common.c:965 [inline] [<000000008c16ea3d>] __kmalloc+0x4a/0x130 mm/slab_common.c:979 [<000000003addde56>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:563 [inline] [<000000003addde56>] sk_prot_alloc+0xef/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:2035 [<000000003e20621f>] sk_alloc+0x36/0x2f0 net/core/sock.c:2088 [<0000000028e43843>] tun_chr_open+0x3d/0x190 drivers/net/tun.c:3438 [<000000001b0f1f28>] misc_open+0x1a6/0x1f0 drivers/char/misc.c:165 [<000000004376f706>] chrdev_open+0x111/0x300 fs/char_dev.c:414 [<00000000614d379f>] do_dentry_open+0x2f9/0x750 fs/open.c:920 [<000000008eb24774>] do_open fs/namei.c:3636 [inline] [<000000008eb24774>] path_openat+0x143f/0x1a30 fs/namei.c:3791 [<00000000955077b5>] do_filp_open+0xce/0x1c0 fs/namei.c:3818 [<00000000b78973b0>] do_sys_openat2+0xf0/0x260 fs/open.c:1356 [<00000000057be699>] do_sys_open fs/open.c:1372 [inline] [<00000000057be699>] __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1388 [inline] [<00000000057be699>] __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1383 [inline] [<00000000057be699>] __x64_sys_openat+0x83/0xf0 fs/open.c:1383 [<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [<00000000a7d2182d>] do_syscall_64+0x3c/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [<000000004cc4e8c4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc unreferenced object 0xffff88802f671700 (size 240): comm "syz-executor.1", pid 33269, jiffies 4295743854 (age 18.736s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff 68 c9 db 1e 80 88 ff ff h.......h....... 00 c0 7b 2f 80 88 ff ff 00 c8 db 1e 80 88 ff ff ..{/............ backtrace: [<00000000e9d9fdb6>] __alloc_skb+0x223/0x250 net/core/skbuff.c:644 [<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1288 [inline] [<000000002c3e4e0b>] alloc_skb_with_frags+0x6f/0x350 net/core/skbuff.c:6378 [<00000000825f98d7>] sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x3ac/0x3e0 net/core/sock.c:2729 [<00000000e9eb3df3>] tun_alloc_skb drivers/net/tun.c:1529 [inline] [< ---truncated---
Title tun: Fix memory leak for detached NAPI queue.
References

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2025-10-07T15:21:38.124Z

Reserved: 2025-10-07T15:16:59.665Z

Link: CVE-2023-53685

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2025-10-07T16:15:52.777

Modified: 2026-02-03T18:12:55.897

Link: CVE-2023-53685

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2025-10-07T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2023-53685 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2025-10-08T13:35:24Z

Weaknesses