CVE-2023-52977

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix flow memory leak in ovs_flow_cmd_new Syzkaller reports a memory leak of new_flow in ovs_flow_cmd_new() as it is not freed when an allocation of a key fails. BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff888116668000 (size 632): comm "syz-executor231", pid 1090, jiffies 4294844701 (age 18.871s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<00000000defa3494>] kmem_cache_zalloc include/linux/slab.h:654 [inline] [<00000000defa3494>] ovs_flow_alloc+0x19/0x180 net/openvswitch/flow_table.c:77 [<00000000c67d8873>] ovs_flow_cmd_new+0x1de/0xd40 net/openvswitch/datapath.c:957 [<0000000010a539a8>] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x22d/0x330 net/netlink/genetlink.c:739 [<00000000dff3302d>] genl_family_rcv_msg net/netlink/genetlink.c:783 [inline] [<00000000dff3302d>] genl_rcv_msg+0x328/0x590 net/netlink/genetlink.c:800 [<000000000286dd87>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x153/0x430 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2515 [<0000000061fed410>] genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 net/netlink/genetlink.c:811 [<000000009dc0f111>] netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1313 [inline] [<000000009dc0f111>] netlink_unicast+0x545/0x7f0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 [<000000004a5ee816>] netlink_sendmsg+0x8e7/0xde0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1934 [<00000000482b476f>] sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:651 [inline] [<00000000482b476f>] sock_sendmsg+0x152/0x190 net/socket.c:671 [<00000000698574ba>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x70a/0x870 net/socket.c:2356 [<00000000d28d9e11>] ___sys_sendmsg+0xf3/0x170 net/socket.c:2410 [<0000000083ba9120>] __sys_sendmsg+0xe5/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2439 [<00000000c00628f8>] do_syscall_64+0x30/0x40 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 [<000000004abfdcf4>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x61/0xc6 To fix this the patch rearranges the goto labels to reflect the order of object allocations and adds appropriate goto statements on the error paths. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2025-03-27 17:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 06:44 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.3% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2025-03-27 17:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 06:44 UTC

Exploit probability

0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-401

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 4.10
• Linux Kernel < 4.14.306
• Linux Kernel < 4.19.273
• Linux Kernel < 5.4.232
• Linux Kernel < 5.10.168
• Linux Kernel < 5.15.93
• Linux Kernel < 6.1
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.11

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2023-52977.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2023-52977. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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