CVE-2023-54018

System crash via unchecked HDMI workqueue allocation

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel MSM HDMI driver allows local users to crash systems during HDMI initialization. drivers/gpu/drm/msm/hdmi/hdmi.c fails to check whether alloc_ordered_workqueue returns NULL before HDCP and hot-plug code dereference the queue pointer. The failure requires an MSM HDMI configuration and a workqueue allocation failure; the published record establishes no reliable attacker-controlled trigger.

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 the Linux kernel MSM HDMI driver allows local users to crash systems during HDMI initialization. drivers/gpu/drm/msm/hdmi/hdmi.c fails to check whether alloc_ordered_workqueue returns NULL before HDCP and hot-plug code dereference the queue pointer. The failure requires an MSM HDMI configuration and a workqueue allocation failure; the published record establishes no reliable attacker-controlled trigger.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54018
Published
Dec 24, 2025
Updated
Dec 24, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 24, 2025Record 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=4.3
  2. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <1bab31a0969ca4ac90907a5d3b44af104229eafd
  3. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <392f7eb3946ab3780b931af723033e19f82c9134
  4. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <9a01ecc312e764ec4527ad49105a3ca799f1860c
  5. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <ae5ca116a0c0ba9fc4123b1f1ec3c4f4d0d01b3f
  6. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <afe4cb96153a0d8003e4e4ebd91b5c543e10df84
  7. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <b479485b24da1d572a0ce875537af31b02d2f915
  8. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <e55f93d674314f2fb69eba0dc24acfdf72805611
  9. Affected versionversion=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <fc34608fa275fe6b3b17e171b63b8ca3aa1cbf09

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.3; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <1bab31a0969ca4ac90907a5d3b44af104229eafd; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <392f7eb3946ab3780b931af723033e19f82c9134; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <9a01ecc312e764ec4527ad49105a3ca799f1860c; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <ae5ca116a0c0ba9fc4123b1f1ec3c4f4d0d01b3f; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <afe4cb96153a0d8003e4e4ebd91b5c543e10df84; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <b479485b24da1d572a0ce875537af31b02d2f915; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <e55f93d674314f2fb69eba0dc24acfdf72805611; version=c6a57a50ad562a2e6fc6ac3218b710caea73a58b <fc34608fa275fe6b3b17e171b63b8ca3aa1cbf09

Published CVSS scores

2.1TenableAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
5.5TenableCVSS:3.0/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

No sourced classifications are available.

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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