CVE-2023-52523: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fh4f-4w54-vgrf
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-52523 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-52523 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-52523
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fh4f-4w54-vgrf
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-52523

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-52523, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Reject sk_msg egress redirects to non-TCP sockets With a SOCKMAP/SOCKHASH map and an sk_msg program user can steer messages sent from one TCP socket (s1) to actually egress from another TCP socket (s2): tcp_bpf_sendmsg(s1) // = sk_prot->sendmsg tcp_bpf_send_verdict(s1) // __SK_REDIRECT case tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir(s2) tcp_bpf_push_locked(s2) tcp_bpf_push(s2) tcp_rate_check_app_limited(s2) // expects tcp_sock tcp_sendmsg_locked(s2) // ditto There is a hard-coded assumption in the call-chain, that the egress socket (s2) is a TCP socket. However in commit 122e6c79efe1 ("sock_map: Update sock type checks for UDP") we have enabled redirects to non-TCP sockets. This was done for the sake of BPF sk_skb programs. There was no indention to support sk_msg send-to-egress use case. As a result, attempts to send-to-egress through a non-TCP socket lead to a crash due to invalid downcast from sock to tcp_sock: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000002f ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? show_regs+0x60/0x70 ? __die+0x1f/0x70 ? page_fault_oops+0x80/0x160 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x2d7/0x800 ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0x50 ? exc_page_fault+0x70/0x1c0 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x27/0x30 ? tcp_tso_segs+0x14/0xa0 tcp_write_xmit+0x67/0xce0 __tcp_push_pending_frames+0x32/0xf0 tcp_push+0x107/0x140 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x99f/0xbb0 tcp_bpf_push+0x19d/0x3a0 tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir+0x55/0xd0 tcp_bpf_send_verdict+0x407/0x550 tcp_bpf_sendmsg+0x1a1/0x390 inet_sendmsg+0x6a/0x70 sock_sendmsg+0x9d/0xc0 ? sockfd_lookup_light+0x12/0x80 __sys_sendto+0x10e/0x160 ? syscall_enter_from_user_mode+0x20/0x60 ? __this_cpu_preempt_check+0x13/0x20 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x82/0x110 __x64_sys_sendto+0x1f/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd Reject selecting a non-TCP sockets as redirect target from a BPF sk_msg program to prevent the crash. When attempted, user will receive an EACCES error from send/sendto/sendmsg() syscall.

References

NVD — CVE-2023-52523 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52523
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b80e31baa4... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b80e31baa43614e086a9d29dc1151932b1bd7fc5
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8f97e47b6... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8f97e47b6fb84fcf2f5a22e725eefb6cf5070c2
git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc8b89b696... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc8b89b6963803a123f64aa9494155a037b3d728
git.kernel.org/stable/c/ded6e44802... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ded6e448028f0f91b6af35985afca01fa02a9089

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52523?
CVE-2023-52523 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2023-52523?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-52523?
CVE-2023-52523 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-52523?
CVE-2023-52523 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-52523?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-fh4f-4w54-vgrf",
  "modified" : "2025-01-13T21:30:47Z",
  "published" : "2024-03-03T00:30:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-52523" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nbpf, sockmap: Reject sk_msg egress redirects to non-TCP sockets\n\nWith a SOCKMAP/SOCKHASH map and an sk_msg program user can steer messages\nsent from one TCP socket (s1) to actually egress from another TCP\nsocket (s2):\n\ntcp_bpf_sendmsg(s1)\t\t// = sk_prot->sendmsg\n  tcp_bpf_send_verdict(s1)\t// __SK_REDIRECT case\n    tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir(s2)\n      tcp_bpf_push_locked(s2)\n\ttcp_bpf_push(s2)\n\t  tcp_rate_check_app_limited(s2) // expects tcp_sock\n\t  tcp_sendmsg_locked(s2)\t // ditto\n\nThere is a hard-coded assumption in the call-chain, that the egress\nsocket (s2) is a TCP socket.\n\nHowever in commit 122e6c79efe1 (\"sock_map: Update sock type checks for\nUDP\") we have enabled redirects to non-TCP sockets. This was done for the\nsake of BPF sk_skb programs. There was no indention to support sk_msg\nsend-to-egress use case.\n\nAs a result, attempts to send-to-egress through a non-TCP socket lead to a\ncrash due to invalid downcast from sock to tcp_sock:\n\n BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000002f\n ...\n Call Trace:\n  <TASK>\n  ? show_regs+0x60/0x70\n  ? __die+0x1f/0x70\n  ? page_fault_oops+0x80/0x160\n  ? do_user_addr_fault+0x2d7/0x800\n  ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0x50\n  ? exc_page_fault+0x70/0x1c0\n  ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x27/0x30\n  ? tcp_tso_segs+0x14/0xa0\n  tcp_write_xmit+0x67/0xce0\n  __tcp_push_pending_frames+0x32/0xf0\n  tcp_push+0x107/0x140\n  tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x99f/0xbb0\n  tcp_bpf_push+0x19d/0x3a0\n  tcp_bpf_sendmsg_redir+0x55/0xd0\n  tcp_bpf_send_verdict+0x407/0x550\n  tcp_bpf_sendmsg+0x1a1/0x390\n  inet_sendmsg+0x6a/0x70\n  sock_sendmsg+0x9d/0xc0\n  ? sockfd_lookup_light+0x12/0x80\n  __sys_sendto+0x10e/0x160\n  ? syscall_enter_from_user_mode+0x20/0x60\n  ? __this_cpu_preempt_check+0x13/0x20\n  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x82/0x110\n  __x64_sys_sendto+0x1f/0x30\n  do_syscall_64+0x38/0x90\n  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd\n\nReject selecting a non-TCP sockets as redirect target from a BPF sk_msg\nprogram to prevent the crash. When attempted, user will receive an EACCES\nerror from send/sendto/sendmsg() syscall.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52523"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b80e31baa43614e086a9d29dc1151932b1bd7fc5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8f97e47b6fb84fcf2f5a22e725eefb6cf5070c2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc8b89b6963803a123f64aa9494155a037b3d728"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ded6e448028f0f91b6af35985afca01fa02a9089"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-03-02T22:15:48Z"
  }
}