Kernel crash via invalid MMC host removal
Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MMC-over-SPI host driver allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. In mmc_spi_probe(), the failure path calls mmc_remove_host() after mmc_add_host() fails, deleting a host that was never added and dereferencing NULL. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and an MMC-over-SPI probe in which host registration fails; the documented consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MMC-over-SPI host driver allows local users to crash the kernel during device probing. In mmc_spi_probe(), the failure path calls mmc_remove_host() after mmc_add_host() fails, deleting a host that was never added and dereferencing NULL. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and an MMC-over-SPI probe in which host registration fails; the documented consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-52708
- Published
- May 21, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 21, 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=15a0580ced081a0f7dc2deea8a4812bdc5e9a109 <0b3edcb24bd81b3b2e3dac89f4733bfd47d283be
- Affected versionversion=15a0580ced081a0f7dc2deea8a4812bdc5e9a109 <82645bf4ed02abe930a659c5fe16d593a6dbd93f
- Affected versionversion=15a0580ced081a0f7dc2deea8a4812bdc5e9a109 <cf4c9d2ac1e42c7d18b921bec39486896645b714
- Affected versionversion=15a0580ced081a0f7dc2deea8a4812bdc5e9a109 <e9b488d60f51ae312006e224e03a30a151c28bdd
- Affected versionversion=15a0580ced081a0f7dc2deea8a4812bdc5e9a109 <ecad2fafd424ffdc203b2748ded0b37e4bbecef3
- Affected versionversion=2.6.24
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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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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