vulnerability

VMware Photon OS: CVE-2023-53619

Severity
7
CVSS
(AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C)
Published
Oct 7, 2025
Added
Oct 15, 2025
Modified
Oct 23, 2025

Description

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

netfilter: conntrack: Avoid nf_ct_helper_hash uses after free

If nf_conntrack_init_start() fails (for example due to a
register_nf_conntrack_bpf() failure), the nf_conntrack_helper_fini()
clean-up path frees the nf_ct_helper_hash map.

When built with NF_CONNTRACK=y, further netfilter modules (e.g:
netfilter_conntrack_ftp) can still be loaded and call
nf_conntrack_helpers_register(), independently of whether nf_conntrack
initialized correctly. This accesses the nf_ct_helper_hash dangling
pointer and causes a uaf, possibly leading to random memory corruption.

This patch guards nf_conntrack_helper_register() from accessing a freed
or uninitialized nf_ct_helper_hash pointer and fixes possible
uses-after-free when loading a conntrack module.

Solution

vmware-photon_os_update_tdnf
Title
NEW

Explore Exposure Command

Confidently identify and prioritize exposures from endpoint to cloud with full attack surface visibility and threat-aware risk context.