CVE-2023-53517: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation When doing link mtu neg

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation When doing link mtu neg

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: do not update mtu if msg_max is too small in mtu negotiation When doing link mtu negotiation, a malicious peer may send Activate msg with a very small mtu, e.g. 4 in Shuang's testing, without checking for the minimum mtu, l->mtu will be set to 4 in tipc_link_proto_rcv(), then n->links[bearer_id].mtu is set to 4294967228, which is a overflow of '4 - INT_H_SIZE - EMSG_OVERHEAD' in tipc_link_mss(). With tipc_link.mtu = 4, tipc_link_xmit() kept printing the warning: tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 5 0 40 4! tipc: Too large msg, purging xmit list 1 15 0 60 4! And with tipc_link_entry.mtu 4294967228, a huge skb was allocated in named_distribute(), and when purging it in tipc_link_xmit(), a crash was even caused: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x2100001011000dd: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.3.0.neta #19 RIP: 0010:kfree_skb_list_reason+0x7e/0x1f0 Call Trace: <IRQ> skb_release_data+0xf9/0x1d0 kfree_skb_reason+0x40/0x100 tipc_link_xmit+0x57a/0x740 [tipc] tipc_node_xmit+0x16c/0x5c0 [tipc] tipc_

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.30%, higher than 23% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.