CVE-2023-54189

Kernel crash via unchecked label allocation

Published Dec 30, 2025 · Updated Dec 30, 2025

NULL-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel pstore/ram subsystem allows attackers to crash the kernel via unspecified vectors. persistent_ram_new() assigns the result of kstrdup(label) to prz->label and continues initialization without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Reachability requires persistent RAM zone creation and an allocation failure; the published record does not identify an attacker-controlled trigger.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.20%
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 pstore/ram subsystem allows attackers to crash the kernel via unspecified vectors. persistent_ram_new() assigns the result of kstrdup(label) to prz->label and continues initialization without checking whether allocation returned NULL. Reachability requires persistent RAM zone creation and an allocation failure; the published record does not identify an attacker-controlled trigger.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54189
Published
Dec 30, 2025
Updated
Dec 30, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
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=5.5
  2. Affected versionversion=c617a3b777b92a0e80ceff2dffaae9350d4c3850 <8430a8e8e85420d4cb51dcb08b0278ab194ea82f
  3. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <065c81ae5817b245bb9feb6d54e027702740b49a
  4. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <2a764a2facd9dd88a69777200f65dfd0182765dc
  5. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <38a9d7dac3ad25323145b4aaea3b5f434f50011d
  6. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <a14cb307267ba7a1715403e071bdc4deda77eef5
  7. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <d97038d5ec2062733c1e016caf9baaf68cf64ea1
  8. Affected versionversion=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <f57ba91a46d3fc52bfdac9cca5cf5572ec7afd6d

What conditions does exploitation require?

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

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.5; version=c617a3b777b92a0e80ceff2dffaae9350d4c3850 <8430a8e8e85420d4cb51dcb08b0278ab194ea82f; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <065c81ae5817b245bb9feb6d54e027702740b49a; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <2a764a2facd9dd88a69777200f65dfd0182765dc; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <38a9d7dac3ad25323145b4aaea3b5f434f50011d; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <a14cb307267ba7a1715403e071bdc4deda77eef5; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <d97038d5ec2062733c1e016caf9baaf68cf64ea1; version=e163fdb3f7f8c62dccf194f3f37a7bcb3c333aa8 <f57ba91a46d3fc52bfdac9cca5cf5572ec7afd6d

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

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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