CVE-2023-22997

System crash via unchecked module error pointer

Published Feb 28, 2023 · Updated Mar 20, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel before 6.1.2 allows local users to crash the system while loading a compressed kernel module. The gzip and XZ paths in kernel/module/decompress.c test module_get_next_page() for NULL even though allocation failures are encoded as error pointers, then pass an invalid pointer onward. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and a kernel configured for compressed modules; the reported consequence is a system crash, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel before 6.1.2 allows local users to crash the system while loading a compressed kernel module. The gzip and XZ paths in kernel/module/decompress.c test module_get_next_page() for NULL even though allocation failures are encoded as error pointers, then pass an invalid pointer onward. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and a kernel configured for compressed modules; the reported consequence is a system crash, with no confidentiality or integrity impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-22997
Published
Feb 28, 2023
Updated
Mar 20, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 28, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 20, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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