CVE-2023-53612
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (coretemp) Simplify platform device handling Coretemp's platform driver is unconventional. All the real work is done globally by the initcall and CPU hotplug notifiers, while the "driver" effectively just wraps an allocation and the registration of the hwmon interface in a long-winded round-trip through the driver core. The whole logic of dynamically creating and destroying platform devices to bring the interfaces up and down is error prone, since it assumes platform_device_add() will synchronously bind the driver and set drvdata before it returns, thus results in a NULL dereference if drivers_autoprobe is turned off for the platform bus. Furthermore, the unusual approach of doing that from within a CPU hotplug notifier, already commented in the code that it deadlocks suspend, also causes lockdep issues for other drivers or subsystems which may want to legitimately register a CPU hotplug notifier from a platform bus notifier. All of these issues can be solved by ripping this unusual behaviour out completely, simply tying the platform devices to the lifetime of the module itself, and directly managing the hwmon interfaces from the hotplug notifiers. There is a slight user-visible change in that /sys/bus/platform/drivers/coretemp will no longer appear, and /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.n will remain present if package n is hotplugged off, but hwmon users should really only be looking for the presence of the hwmon interfaces, whose behaviour remains unchanged.
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-476CVE-2023-53612 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
4.10
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.4.235,
5.10.173,
5.15.99,
6.1.16,
6.2.3,
6.3
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53612 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4000384684f612b3645a944f6acde0e65ac370b8
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/52ea47a0ddfbc5fe05e873d3f5a59db4ba3e03fe
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5735878a7b7db7e9ce731cb36cec298a9de67549
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2023-53612?
CVE-2023-53612 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 4.10 onward and has been patched in 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.99 and others. CVE-2023-53612 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53612?
CVE-2023-53612 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-2023-53612?
Yes — CVE-2023-53612 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.99 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.10 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2023-53612 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2023-53612 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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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 →