Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2023-53294
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Fix null-ptr-deref on inode->i_op in ntfs_lookup() Syzbot reported a null-ptr-deref bug: ntfs3: loop0: Different NTFS' sector size (1024) and media sector size (512) ntfs3: loop0: Mark volume as dirty due to NTFS errors general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000001: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f] RIP: 0010:d_flags_for_inode fs/dcache.c:1980 [inline] RIP: 0010:__d_add+0x5ce/0x800 fs/dcache.c:2796 Call Trace: <TASK> d_splice_alias+0x122/0x3b0 fs/dcache.c:3191 lookup_open fs/namei.c:3391 [inline] open_last_lookups fs/namei.c:3481 [inline] path_openat+0x10e6/0x2df0 fs/namei.c:3688 do_filp_open+0x264/0x4f0 fs/namei.c:3718 do_sys_openat2+0x124/0x4e0 fs/open.c:1310 do_sys_open fs/open.c:1326 [inline] __do_sys_open fs/open.c:1334 [inline] __se_sys_open fs/open.c:1330 [inline] __x64_sys_open+0x221/0x270 fs/open.c:1330 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd If the MFT record of ntfs inode is not a base record, inode->i_op can be NULL. And a null-ptr-deref may happen: ntfs_lookup() dir_search_u() # inode->i_op is set to NULL d_splice_alias() __d_add() d_flags_for_inode() # inode->i_op->get_link null-ptr-deref Fix this by adding a Check on inode->i_op before calling the d_splice_alias() function.
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 analysisThe 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
>= 5.15, < 5.15.112>= 5.16, < 6.1.29>= 6.2, < 6.2.16>= 6.3, < 6.3.3CVSS 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 · scoped5.15.1126.1.296.2.16
Linux kernel 5.15.112, 6.1.29, 6.2.16, or 6.3.3 (depending on your current branch)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.15.112 or later for the 5.15.x stable branch
- OR upgrade to kernel version 6.1.29 or later for the 6.1.x stable branch
- OR upgrade to kernel version 6.2.16 or later for the 6.2.x stable branch
- OR upgrade to kernel version 6.3.3 or later for the 6.3.x stable branch
- Alternatively, apply the vendor patch commit 254e69f284d7270e0abdc023ee53b71401c3ba0c to the ntfs_lookup() function in fs/ntfs3/namei.c, adding a check for inode->i_op before calling d_splice_alias()
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-53294 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53294 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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