CVE-2023-53425

Kernel crash via premature platform-device dereference

Published Sep 18, 2025 · Updated Sep 18, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in MediaTek VPU firmware loading in Linux 4.8 through 6.4.11 allows local users to crash the kernel. vpu_load_firmware initializes dev from pdev before checking whether pdev is NULL, causing the error path itself to dereference the invalid pointer. Reaching the faulty path requires local low-privileged access and a system using the MediaTek VPU driver; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
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 MediaTek VPU firmware loading in Linux 4.8 through 6.4.11 allows local users to crash the kernel. vpu_load_firmware initializes dev from pdev before checking whether pdev is NULL, causing the error path itself to dereference the invalid pointer. Reaching the faulty path requires local low-privileged access and a system using the MediaTek VPU driver; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53425
Published
Sep 18, 2025
Updated
Sep 18, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 18, 2025Record 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <099e929e7477f37ca16738fc158d7101c0189ca1
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1b3f25d3894a091abc247eadab266a2c9be64389
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <2caeb722f0ea5d2d24af30bb1753a89d449b6aa0
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3df55cd773e8603b623425cc97b05e542854ad27
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4d299e6e0ac3cf8ab4517dc29c9294bc4bf72398
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <776b34615a29551d69d82a0082e7319d5ea284bd
  7. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b7bd48f0be84e24d21aa3a8f59a8a9cb8633a1c4
  8. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c1c5826223ae05a48d21f6708c6f34ee9006238c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <099e929e7477f37ca16738fc158d7101c0189ca1; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1b3f25d3894a091abc247eadab266a2c9be64389; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <2caeb722f0ea5d2d24af30bb1753a89d449b6aa0; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3df55cd773e8603b623425cc97b05e542854ad27; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4d299e6e0ac3cf8ab4517dc29c9294bc4bf72398; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <776b34615a29551d69d82a0082e7319d5ea284bd; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b7bd48f0be84e24d21aa3a8f59a8a9cb8633a1c4; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c1c5826223ae05a48d21f6708c6f34ee9006238c

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5CISA-ADPCVSS: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
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

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Your stack

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