CVE-2023-53648

Local crash via unchecked AC'97 output pointer

Published Oct 7, 2025 · Updated Oct 7, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 2.6.28 through 6.4 allows local users to crash the system during ALSA AC'97 mixer setup. snd_ac97_mixer conditionally initializes the rac97 output pointer but later unconditionally writes the allocated codec through it. Reachability requires a caller to pass NULL for rac97; upstream review states that all in-tree callers pass a non-NULL pointer.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
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 2.6.28 through 6.4 allows local users to crash the system during ALSA AC'97 mixer setup. snd_ac97_mixer conditionally initializes the rac97 output pointer but later unconditionally writes the allocated codec through it. Reachability requires a caller to pass NULL for rac97; upstream review states that all in-tree callers pass a non-NULL pointer.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53648
Published
Oct 7, 2025
Updated
Oct 7, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 7, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 7, 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=2.6.28
  2. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <09baf460dfba79ee6a0c72e68ccdbbba84d894df
  3. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <228da1fa124470606ac19783e551f9d51a1e01b0
  4. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <300e26e3e64880de5013eac8831cf44387ef752c
  5. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <5f13d67027fa782096e6aee0db5dce61c4aeb613
  6. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <79597c8bf64ca99eab385115743131d260339da5
  7. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <809af7bb4219bdeef0dbb8b2ed700d6516d13fe9
  8. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <d28b83252e150155b8b8c65b612c555e93c8b45f
  9. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <e4cccff1e7ab6ea30995b6fbbb007d02647e025c
  10. Affected versionversion=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <f923a582217b198b557756809ffe42ac0fad6adb

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.28; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <09baf460dfba79ee6a0c72e68ccdbbba84d894df; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <228da1fa124470606ac19783e551f9d51a1e01b0; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <300e26e3e64880de5013eac8831cf44387ef752c; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <5f13d67027fa782096e6aee0db5dce61c4aeb613; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <79597c8bf64ca99eab385115743131d260339da5; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <809af7bb4219bdeef0dbb8b2ed700d6516d13fe9; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <d28b83252e150155b8b8c65b612c555e93c8b45f; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <e4cccff1e7ab6ea30995b6fbbb007d02647e025c; version=da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118 <f923a582217b198b557756809ffe42ac0fad6adb

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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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