CVE-2023-53686: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit() We should not call trace

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit() We should not call trace_han

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/handshake: fix null-ptr-deref in handshake_nl_done_doit() We should not call trace_handshake_cmd_done_err() if socket lookup has failed. Also we should call trace_handshake_cmd_done_err() before releasing the file, otherwise dereferencing sock->sk can return garbage. This also reverts 7afc6d0a107f ("net/handshake: Fix uninitialized local variable") Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address dfff800000000003 KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f] Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000005 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [dfff800000000003] address between user and kernel address ranges Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 5986 Comm: syz-executor292 Not tainted 6.5.0-rc7-syzkaller-gfe4469582053 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/26/2023 pstat

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 0.13%, higher than 2% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 6, 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.

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