CVE-2023-52858

Kernel crash via unchecked clock-data allocation

Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux MT7629 clock driver allows local users to crash the kernel during driver initialization. The MT7629 clock initialization functions pass a null clk_data pointer from a failed mtk_alloc_clk_data() call into clock-registration helpers that dereference it. Reachability requires an MT7629 system with CONFIG_COMMON_CLK_MT7629 enabled and an allocation failure during platform-driver initialization; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux MT7629 clock driver allows local users to crash the kernel during driver initialization. The MT7629 clock initialization functions pass a null clk_data pointer from a failed mtk_alloc_clk_data() call into clock-registration helpers that dereference it. Reachability requires an MT7629 system with CONFIG_COMMON_CLK_MT7629 enabled and an allocation failure during platform-driver initialization; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52858
Published
May 21, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <1d89430fc3158f872d492f1b88d07262f48290c0
  2. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <2befa515c1bb6cdd33c262b909d93d1973a219aa
  3. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <4f861b63945e076f9f003a5fad958174096df1ee
  4. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <5fbea47eebff5daeca7d918c99289bcd3ae4dc8d
  5. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <a836efc21ef04608333d6d05753e558ebd1f85d0
  6. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <e8ae4b49dd9cfde69d8de8c0c0cd7cf1b004482e
  7. Affected versionversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <e964d21dc034b650d719c4ea39564bec72b42f94
  8. Affected versionversion=5.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <1d89430fc3158f872d492f1b88d07262f48290c0; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <2befa515c1bb6cdd33c262b909d93d1973a219aa; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <4f861b63945e076f9f003a5fad958174096df1ee; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <5fbea47eebff5daeca7d918c99289bcd3ae4dc8d; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <a836efc21ef04608333d6d05753e558ebd1f85d0; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <e8ae4b49dd9cfde69d8de8c0c0cd7cf1b004482e; version=3b5e748615e714711220b2a95d19bd25a037db09 <e964d21dc034b650d719c4ea39564bec72b42f94; version=5.0
The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=3b5e748615e7; version=5.0

Published CVSS scores

6.2CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application 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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo