CVE-2023-53245

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: storvsc: Fix handling of virtual Fibre Channel timeouts Hyper-V provides the ability to connect Fibre Channel LUNs to the host system and present them in a guest VM as a SCSI device. I/O to the vFC device is handled by the storvsc driver. The storvsc driver includes a partial integration with the FC transport implemented in the generic portion of the Linux SCSI subsystem so that FC attributes can be displayed in /sys. However, the partial integration means that some aspects of vFC don't work properly. Unfortunately, a full and correct integration isn't practical because of limitations in what Hyper-V provides to the guest. In particular, in the context of Hyper-V storvsc, the FC transport timeout function fc_eh_timed_out() causes a kernel panic because it can't find the rport and dereferences a NULL pointer. The original patch that added the call from storvsc_eh_timed_out() to fc_eh_timed_out() is faulty in this regard. In many cases a timeout is due to a transient condition, so the situation can be improved by just continuing to wait like with other I/O requests issued by storvsc, and avoiding the guaranteed panic. For a permanent failure, continuing to wait may result in a hung thread instead of a panic, which again may be better. So fix the panic by removing the storvsc call to fc_eh_timed_out(). This allows storvsc to keep waiting for a response. The change has been tested by users who experienced a panic in fc_eh_timed_out() due to transient timeouts, and it solves their problem. In the future we may want to deprecate the vFC functionality in storvsc since it can't be fully fixed. But it has current users for whom it is working well enough, so it should probably stay for a while longer.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-09-15
Last modified 2026-01-14
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-2023-53245 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 4.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254, 5.10.191, 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11, 6.5 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.13
Fixed in
✓ 4.14.323 4.14.x ✓ 4.19.292 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.254 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.191 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.127 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.46 6.1.x ✓ 6.4.11 6.4.x ✓ 6.5

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53245 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2023-53245?

    CVE-2023-53245 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 4.13 onward and has been patched in 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254 and others. CVE-2023-53245 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53245?

    CVE-2023-53245 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-2023-53245?

    Yes — CVE-2023-53245 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.14.323, 4.19.292, 5.4.254 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2023-53245 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2023-53245 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 →