What is CVE-2023-53071?

CVE-2023-53071 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476), affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.18 onward and patched in 6.1.113, 6.2.9 and 6.3. CVE-2023-53071 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53071?

CVE-2023-53071 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53071?

Yes, CVE-2023-53071 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.113, 6.2.9 and 6.3. If you are running Linux kernel 5.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2023-53071 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-53071 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html

CVE-2023-53071

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mt76: do not run mt76_unregister_device() on unregistered hw Trying to probe a mt7921e pci card without firmware results in a successful probe where ieee80211_register_hw hasn't been called. When removing the driver, ieee802111_unregister_hw is called unconditionally leading to a kernel NULL pointer dereference. Fix the issue running mt76_unregister_device routine just for registered hw.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-05-02

Last modified 2025-11-12

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-476

CVE-2023-53071 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.18 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.113, 6.2.9, 6.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.18

Fixed in

✓ 6.1.113 6.1.x ✓ 6.2.9 6.2.x ✓ 6.3

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53071 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d34f27714c97a9786a30b3bb54944d6d8ed612f
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41130c32f3a18fcc930316da17f3a5f3bc326aa1
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dffe86df26aee01a5fc56a175b7a7f157961e370
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2023-53071

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-05-02

Modified 2025-11-12

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53071?

CVE-2023-53071 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.18 onward and has been patched in 6.1.113, 6.2.9 and 6.3. CVE-2023-53071 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53071?

CVE-2023-53071 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53071?

Yes — CVE-2023-53071 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.113, 6.2.9 and 6.3. If you are running Linux kernel 5.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2023-53071 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2023-53071 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →