Kernel crash via unchecked charger-driver allocations
Published Feb 25, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Qualcomm SMB2 charger driver in Linux 6.5 allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. The smb2_probe function uses results from devm_kzalloc and devm_kasprintf without first rejecting NULL allocation results, so descriptor initialization or registration dereferences them. Reaching the fault requires a compatible Qualcomm PMI8998 or PM660 charger device and a memory-allocation failure; published analysis describes attacker influence over that failure as very unlikely.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Qualcomm SMB2 charger driver in Linux 6.5 allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. The smb2_probe function uses results from devm_kzalloc and devm_kasprintf without first rejecting NULL allocation results, so descriptor initialization or registration dereferences them. Reaching the fault requires a compatible Qualcomm PMI8998 or PM660 charger device and a memory-allocation failure; published analysis describes attacker influence over that failure as very unlikely.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-52465
- Published
- Feb 25, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 25, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.5
- Affected versionversion=8648aeb5d7b70e13264ff5f444f22081d37d4670 <88f04bc3e737155e13caddf0ba8ed19db87f0212
- Affected versionversion=8648aeb5d7b70e13264ff5f444f22081d37d4670 <bd3d2ec447ede9da822addf3960a5f4275e3ae76
- Affected versionversion=8648aeb5d7b70e13264ff5f444f22081d37d4670 <e2717302fbc20f148bcda362facee0444b949a3a
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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