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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-52808

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.140 / 6.1.64 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: hisi_sas: Set debugfs_dir pointer to NULL after removing debugfs If init debugfs failed during device registration due to memory allocation failure, debugfs_remove_recursive() is called, after which debugfs_dir is not set to NULL. debugfs_remove_recursive() will be called again during device removal. As a result, illegal pointer is accessed. [ 1665.467244] hisi_sas_v3_hw 0000:b4:02.0: failed to init debugfs! ... [ 1669.836708] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000000000000a0 [ 1669.872669] pc : down_write+0x24/0x70 [ 1669.876315] lr : down_write+0x1c/0x70 [ 1669.879961] sp : ffff000036f53a30 [ 1669.883260] x29: ffff000036f53a30 x28: ffffa027c31549f8 [ 1669.888547] x27: ffffa027c3140000 x26: 0000000000000000 [ 1669.893834] x25: ffffa027bf37c270 x24: ffffa027bf37c270 [ 1669.899122] x23: ffff0000095406b8 x22: ffff0000095406a8 [ 1669.904408] x21: 0000000000000000 x20: ffffa027bf37c310 [ 1669.909695] x19: 00000000000000a0 x18: ffff8027dcd86f10 [ 1669.914982] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 [ 1669.920268] x15: 0000000000000000 x14: ffffa0274014f870 [ 1669.925555] x13: 0000000000000040 x12: 0000000000000228 [ 1669.930842] x11: 0000000000000020 x10: 0000000000000bb0 [ 1669.936129] x9 : ffff000036f537f0 x8 : ffff80273088ca10 [ 1669.941416] x7 : 000000000000001d x6 : 00000000ffffffff [ 1669.946702] x5 : ffff000008a36310 x4 : ffff80273088be00 [ 1669.951989] x3 : ffff000009513e90 x2 : 0000000000000000 [ 1669.957276] x1 : 00000000000000a0 x0 : ffffffff00000001 [ 1669.962563] Call trace: [ 1669.965000] down_write+0x24/0x70 [ 1669.968301] debugfs_remove_recursive+0x5c/0x1b0 [ 1669.972905] hisi_sas_debugfs_exit+0x24/0x30 [hisi_sas_main] [ 1669.978541] hisi_sas_v3_remove+0x130/0x150 [hisi_sas_v3_hw] [ 1669.984175] pci_device_remove+0x48/0xd8 [ 1669.988082] device_release_driver_internal+0x1b4/0x250 [ 1669.993282] device_release_driver+0x28/0x38 [ 1669.997534] pci_stop_bus_device+0x84/0xb8 [ 1670.001611] pci_stop_and_remove_bus_device_locked+0x24/0x40 [ 1670.007244] remove_store+0xfc/0x140 [ 1670.010802] dev_attr_store+0x44/0x60 [ 1670.014448] sysfs_kf_write+0x58/0x80 [ 1670.018095] kernfs_fop_write+0xe8/0x1f0 [ 1670.022000] __vfs_write+0x60/0x190 [ 1670.025472] vfs_write+0xac/0x1c0 [ 1670.028771] ksys_write+0x6c/0xd8 [ 1670.032071] __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x30 [ 1670.035977] el0_svc_common+0x78/0x130 [ 1670.039710] el0_svc_handler+0x38/0x78 [ 1670.043442] el0_svc+0x8/0xc To fix this, set debugfs_dir to NULL after debugfs_remove_recursive().

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.5, < 5.15.140>= 5.16, < 6.1.64>= 6.2, < 6.5.13>= 6.6, < 6.6.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.140 / 6.1.64 / 6.5.13 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1406.1.646.5.13
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel >= 6.6.3 (or any of: >= 5.15.140, >= 6.1.64, >= 6.5.13)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix: 5.15.140 or later, 6.1.64 or later, 6.5.13 or later, or 6.6.3 or later.
  2. Reboot the system to load the new kernel.
  3. Verify the hisi_sas driver loads correctly and debugfs initialization works properly.
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver compatibility verification for custom or out-of-tree modules

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52808 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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