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CVE-2023-53549

5.5 · MEDIUM

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: Rework long task execution when adding/deleting entries When adding/deleting large number of elements in one…

Published Oct 4, 2025CWE-667EPSS 0.13%

Overview

CVE-2023-53549 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on October 4, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

netfilter: ipset: Rework long task execution when adding/deleting entries

When adding/deleting large number of elements in one step in ipset, it can

take a reasonable amount of time and can result in soft lockup errors. The

patch 5f7b51bf09ba ("netfilter: ipset: Limit the maximal range of

consecutive elements to add/delete") tried to fix it by limiting the max

elements to process at all. However it was not enough, it is still possible

that we get hung tasks. Lowering the limit is not reasonable, so the

approach in this patch is as follows: rely on the method used at resizing

sets and save the state when we reach a smaller internal batch limit,

unlock/lock and proceed from the saved state. Thus we can avoid long

continuous tasks and at the same time removed the limit to add/delete large

number of elements in one step.

The nfnl mutex is held during the whole operation which prevents one to

issue other ipset commands i

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53549?

CVE-2023-53549 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on October 4, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-53549?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-53549?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-53549?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-53549 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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