What is CVE-2023-53648?

CVE-2023-53648 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 2.6.28 onward and patched in 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251 and others. CVE-2023-53648 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53648?

CVE-2023-53648 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-2023-53648?

Yes, CVE-2023-53648 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.28 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2023-53648 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-53648 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-2023-53648

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: ac97: Fix possible NULL dereference in snd_ac97_mixer smatch error: sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c:2354 snd_ac97_mixer() error: we previously assumed 'rac97' could be null (see line 2072) remove redundant assignment, return error if rac97 is NULL.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-10-07

Last modified 2026-02-03

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-2023-53648 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 2.6.28 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.121, 6.1.39, 6.3.13, 6.4.4, 6.5 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 2.6.28

Fixed in

✓ 4.14.322 4.14.x ✓ 4.19.291 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.251 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.188 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.121 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.39 6.1.x ✓ 6.3.13 6.3.x ✓ 6.4.4 6.4.x ✓ 6.5

References

9 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09baf460dfba79ee6a0c72e68ccdbbba84d894df

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/228da1fa124470606ac19783e551f9d51a1e01b0

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/300e26e3e64880de5013eac8831cf44387ef752c

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f13d67027fa782096e6aee0db5dce61c4aeb613

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79597c8bf64ca99eab385115743131d260339da5

Patch

Showing 5 of 9 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2023-53648

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-10-07

Modified 2026-02-03

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53648?

CVE-2023-53648 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 2.6.28 onward and has been patched in 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251 and others. CVE-2023-53648 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-53648?

CVE-2023-53648 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-2023-53648?

Yes. CVE-2023-53648 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.28 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2023-53648 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2023-53648 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.