CVE-2023-54178

Kernel crash via unchecked allocation failure

Published Dec 30, 2025 · Updated Dec 30, 2025

NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel allows attackers to crash a kernel running Open Firmware unit tests via an allocation failure. In of_unittest_find_node_by_name(), failed kasprintf() calls leave name or full_name NULL, but strcmp() dereferences the unchecked pointer. Reachability requires the OF unittest path and a failed allocation; no data disclosure, modification, or privilege gain is reported.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

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Summary

What happened

NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel allows attackers to crash a kernel running Open Firmware unit tests via an allocation failure. In of_unittest_find_node_by_name(), failed kasprintf() calls leave name or full_name NULL, but strcmp() dereferences the unchecked pointer. Reachability requires the OF unittest path and a failed allocation; no data disclosure, modification, or privilege gain is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54178
Published
Dec 30, 2025
Updated
Dec 30, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 30, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 30, 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=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <0b7d715511915a1b39f5fdcbe57a7922dfd66513
  2. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <2dd8ee9de71ad8447f8459fb01dade7f6c7132da
  3. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <43cc228099c514467b8074d7ede6673cef9f33b9
  4. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <c364fa869b33ca42a263bf91c22fce7e6c61d479
  5. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <c74ae8124f9687062dd99858f34c9d027ddd73da
  6. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <d6ce4f0ea19c32f10867ed93d8386924326ab474
  7. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <dadf0d0dfcc81cdcb27ba5426676d13a9e4fb925
  8. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <ea5bc6f5aa099e3e84d037282836234ad77cba88
  9. Affected versionversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <f41c65f8d05be734898cbe72af59a401b97d298a
  10. Affected versionversion=4.14

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <0b7d715511915a1b39f5fdcbe57a7922dfd66513; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <2dd8ee9de71ad8447f8459fb01dade7f6c7132da; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <43cc228099c514467b8074d7ede6673cef9f33b9; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <c364fa869b33ca42a263bf91c22fce7e6c61d479; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <c74ae8124f9687062dd99858f34c9d027ddd73da; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <d6ce4f0ea19c32f10867ed93d8386924326ab474; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <dadf0d0dfcc81cdcb27ba5426676d13a9e4fb925; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <ea5bc6f5aa099e3e84d037282836234ad77cba88; version=0d638a07d3a1e98a7598eb2812a6236324e4c55f <f41c65f8d05be734898cbe72af59a401b97d298a; version=4.14

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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