CVE-2023-52888

Service interruption via unchecked NULL buffer free

Published Jul 30, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Double free in the MediaTek vcodec driver in affected Linux kernels allows local users to interrupt service through a NULL buffer free. The AV1 decoder and H.264 encoder cleanup paths call mtk_vcodec_mem_free() without first checking whether the buffer virtual address is NULL, triggering kernel warnings. Local low-privileged access and use of an affected MediaTek codec path are required; published metrics report no confidentiality or integrity impact.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Double free in the MediaTek vcodec driver in affected Linux kernels allows local users to interrupt service through a NULL buffer free. The AV1 decoder and H.264 encoder cleanup paths call mtk_vcodec_mem_free() without first checking whether the buffer virtual address is NULL, triggering kernel warnings. Local low-privileged access and use of an affected MediaTek codec path are required; published metrics report no confidentiality or integrity impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52888
Published
Jul 30, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-415, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 30, 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=4.10
  2. Affected versionversion=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <303d01082edaf817ee2df53a40dca9da637a2c04
  3. Affected versionversion=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <5c217253c76c94f76d1df31d0bbdcb88dc07be91
  4. Affected versionversion=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <eb005c801ec70ff4307727bd3bd6e8280169ef32

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.10; version=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <303d01082edaf817ee2df53a40dca9da637a2c04; version=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <5c217253c76c94f76d1df31d0bbdcb88dc07be91; version=590577a4e5257ac3ed72999a94666ad6ba8f24bc <eb005c801ec70ff4307727bd3bd6e8280169ef32

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS: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-415Double Free
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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