CVE-2023-53093

Kernel crash via invalid histogram value modifiers

Published May 2, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel tracing allows local users to crash the kernel by reading a crafted histogram trigger. The trigger parser accepts modifiers that are unsupported for value fields; hist_field_name later processes the malformed value and dereferences a NULL pointer while formatting the histogram. Access to tracing control files and creation of a crafted trigger are required; reading its histogram causes a kernel oops and service interruption.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
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 tracing allows local users to crash the kernel by reading a crafted histogram trigger. The trigger parser accepts modifiers that are unsupported for value fields; hist_field_name later processes the malformed value and dereferences a NULL pointer while formatting the histogram. Access to tracing control files and creation of a crafted trigger are required; reading its histogram causes a kernel oops and service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53093
Published
May 2, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 2, 2025CVE 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=4.7
  2. Affected versionversion=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <2fc0ee435c9264cdb7c5e872f76cd9bb97640227
  3. Affected versionversion=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <39cd75f2f3a43c0e2f95749eb6dd6420c553f87d
  4. Affected versionversion=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <e0213434fe3e4a0d118923dc98d31e7ff1cd9e45

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.7; version=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <2fc0ee435c9264cdb7c5e872f76cd9bb97640227; version=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <39cd75f2f3a43c0e2f95749eb6dd6420c553f87d; version=c6afad49d127f6d7c9957319f55173a2198b1ba8 <e0213434fe3e4a0d118923dc98d31e7ff1cd9e45

Published CVSS scores

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.

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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
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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