CVE-2023-53513: nbd: fix incomplete validation of ioctl arg

Published Oct 1, 2025
·
Updated

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

nbd: fix incomplete validation of ioctl arg

We tested and found an alarm caused by nbdioctl arg without verification. The UBSAN warning calltrace like below:

UBSAN: Undefined behaviour in fs/buffer.c:1709:35 signed integer overflow: -9223372036854775808 - 1 cannot be represented in type 'long long int' CPU: 3 PID: 2523 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 4.19.90 #1 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: dumpbacktrace+0x0/0x3f0 arch/arm64/kernel/time.c:78 showstack+0x28/0x38 arch/arm64/kernel/traps.c:158 dumpstack lib/dumpstack.c:77 [inline] dumpstack+0x170/0x1dc lib/dumpstack.c:118 ubsanepilogue+0x18/0xb4 lib/ubsan.c:161 handleoverflow+0x188/0x1dc lib/ubsan.c:192 ubsanhandlesuboverflow+0x34/0x44 lib/ubsan.c:206 blockwritefullpage+0x94c/0xa20 fs/buffer.c:1709 blockwritefullpage+0x1f0/0x280 fs/buffer.c:2934 blkdevwritepage+0x34/0x40 fs/blockdev.c:607 writepage+0x68/0xe8 mm/page-writeback.c:2305 writecachepages+0x44c/0xc70 mm/page-writeback.c:2240 genericwritepages+0xdc/0x148 mm/page-writeback.c:2329 blkdevwritepages+0x2c/0x38 fs/blockdev.c:2114 dowritepages+0xd4/0x250 mm/page-writeback.c:2344

The reason for triggering this warning is blockwritefullpage() - isizeread(inode) - 1 overflow. inode-isize is assigned in nbdioctl() - nbdsetsize() - bytesize. We think it is necessary to limit the size of arg to prevent errors.

Moreover, nbdioctl() - nbdaddsocket(), arg will be cast to int. Assuming the value of arg is 0x80000000000000001) (on a 64-bit machine), it will become 1 after the coercion, which will return unexpected results.

Fix it by adding checks to prevent passing in too large numbers.

Other sources

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

nbd: fix incomplete validation of ioctl arg

We tested and found an alarm caused by nbdioctl arg without verification. The UBSAN warning calltrace like below:

UBSAN: Undefined behaviour in fs/buffer.c:1709:35 signed integer overflow: -9223372036854775808 - 1 cannot be represented in type 'long long int' CPU: 3 PID: 2523 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 4.19.90 #1 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: dumpbacktrace+0x0/0x3f0 arch/arm64/kernel/time.c:78 showstack+0x28/0x38 arch/arm64/kernel/traps.c:158 dumpstack lib/dumpstack.c:77 [inline] dumpstack+0x170/0x1dc lib/dumpstack.c:118 ubsanepilogue+0x18/0xb4 lib/ubsan.c:161 handleoverflow+0x188/0x1dc lib/ubsan.c:192 ubsanhandlesuboverflow+0x34/0x44 lib/ubsan.c:206 blockwritefullpage+0x94c/0xa20 fs/buffer.c:1709 blockwritefullpage+0x1f0/0x280 fs/buffer.c:2934 blkdevwritepage+0x34/0x40 fs/blockdev.c:607 writepage+0x68/0xe8 mm/page-writeback.c:2305 writecachepages+0x44c/0xc70 mm/page-writeback.c:2240 genericwritepages+0xdc/0x148 mm/page-writeback.c:2329 blkdevwritepages+0x2c/0x38 fs/blockdev.c:2114 dowritepages+0xd4/0x250 mm/page-writeback.c:2344

The reason for triggering this warning is blockwritefullpage() -> isizeread(inode) - 1 overflow. inode->isize is assigned in nbdioctl() -> nbdsetsize() -> bytesize. We think it is necessary to limit the size of arg to prevent errors.

Moreover, nbdioctl() -> nbdaddsocket(), arg will be cast to int. Assuming the value of arg is 0x80000000000000001) (on a 64-bit machine), it will become 1 after the coercion, which will return unexpected results.

Fix it by adding checks to prevent passing in too large numbers.

NVD

Affected Software

6 affected components
Linux Linux kernel<=4.19.90
Linux Linux kernel>=4.1<5.15.113
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.30
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.3.4
IBM DS8A00( R10.0 - R10.1 )<=10.1.3.0 - 10.11.35.0
IBM DS8900F ( R9.4)<=89.40.83.0-89.44.25.0

Event History

Oct 1, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:46 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:46 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·12:07 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·12:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Aug 19, 2026
Data Sourced
via IBM·12:00 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2023-53513?

CVE-2023-53513 has been classified as a medium severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2023-53513?

To fix CVE-2023-53513, update your Linux kernel to version 4.19.91 or later.

3

Which versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2023-53513?

CVE-2023-53513 affects Linux kernel versions up to and including 4.19.90.

4

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-53513?

CVE-2023-53513 is a vulnerability related to incomplete validation of ioctl arguments in the Linux kernel.

5

Is CVE-2023-53513 exploitable in real-world scenarios?

Yes, CVE-2023-53513 could potentially be exploited to cause undefined behavior in systems using the affected kernel versions.

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