Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53625

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-07

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.163 / 5.15.87 or later.

See remediation →

57/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915/gvt: fix vgpu debugfs clean in remove Check carefully on root debugfs available when destroying vgpu, e.g in remove case drm minor's debugfs root might already be destroyed, which led to kernel oops like below. Console: switching to colour dummy device 80x25 i915 0000:00:02.0: MDEV: Unregistering intel_vgpu_mdev b1338b2d-a709-4c23-b766-cc436c36cdf0: Removing from iommu group 14 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000150 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP CPU: 3 PID: 1046 Comm: driverctl Not tainted 6.1.0-rc2+ #6 Hardware name: HP HP ProDesk 600 G3 MT/829D, BIOS P02 Ver. 02.44 09/13/2022 RIP: 0010:__lock_acquire+0x5e2/0x1f90 Code: 87 ad 09 00 00 39 05 e1 1e cc 02 0f 82 f1 09 00 00 ba 01 00 00 00 48 83 c4 48 89 d0 5b 5d 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f c3 45 31 ff <48> 81 3f 60 9e c2 b6 45 0f 45 f8 83 fe 01 0f 87 55 fa ff ff 89 f0 RSP: 0018:ffff9f770274f948 EFLAGS: 00010046 RAX: 0000000000000003 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000150 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: ffff8895d1173300 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000150 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007fc9b2ba0740(0000) GS:ffff889cdfcc0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000150 CR3: 000000010fd93005 CR4: 00000000003706e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> lock_acquire+0xbf/0x2b0 ? simple_recursive_removal+0xa5/0x2b0 ? lock_release+0x13d/0x2d0 down_write+0x2a/0xd0 ? simple_recursive_removal+0xa5/0x2b0 simple_recursive_removal+0xa5/0x2b0 ? start_creating.part.0+0x110/0x110 ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x29/0x40 debugfs_remove+0x40/0x60 intel_gvt_debugfs_remove_vgpu+0x15/0x30 [kvmgt] intel_gvt_destroy_vgpu+0x60/0x100 [kvmgt] intel_vgpu_release_dev+0xe/0x20 [kvmgt] device_release+0x30/0x80 kobject_put+0x79/0x1b0 device_release_driver_internal+0x1b8/0x230 bus_remove_device+0xec/0x160 device_del+0x189/0x400 ? up_write+0x9c/0x1b0 ? mdev_device_remove_common+0x60/0x60 [mdev] mdev_device_remove_common+0x22/0x60 [mdev] mdev_device_remove_cb+0x17/0x20 [mdev] device_for_each_child+0x56/0x80 mdev_unregister_parent+0x5a/0x81 [mdev] intel_gvt_clean_device+0x2d/0xe0 [kvmgt] intel_gvt_driver_remove+0x2e/0xb0 [i915] i915_driver_remove+0xac/0x100 [i915] i915_pci_remove+0x1a/0x30 [i915] pci_device_remove+0x31/0xa0 device_release_driver_internal+0x1b8/0x230 unbind_store+0xd8/0x100 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x156/0x210 vfs_write+0x236/0x4a0 ksys_write+0x61/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x55/0x80 ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 ? lock_release+0x13d/0x2d0 ? up_read+0x17/0x20 ? lock_is_held_type+0xe3/0x140 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x7d/0x100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 RIP: 0033:0x7fc9b2c9e0c4 Code: 15 71 7d 0d 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 48 c7 c0 ff ff ff ff eb b7 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d 3d 05 0e 00 00 74 13 b8 01 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 48 83 ec 28 48 89 54 24 18 48 RSP: 002b:00007ffec29c81c8 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000001 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000000000000000d RCX: 00007fc9b2c9e0c4 RDX: 000000000000000d RSI: 0000559f8b5f48a0 RDI: 0000000000000001 RBP: 0000559f8b5f48a0 R08: 0000559f8b5f3540 R09: 00007fc9b2d76d30 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 000000000000000d R13: 00007fc9b2d77780 R14: 000000000000000d R15: 00007fc9b2d72a00 </TASK> Modules linked in: sunrpc intel_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common intel_pmc_core_pltdrv intel_pmc_core intel_tcc_cooling x86_pkg_temp_thermal intel_powerclamp coretemp kvm_intel ee1004 igbvf rapl vfat fat intel_cstate intel_uncore pktcdvd i2c_i801 pcspkr wmi_bmof i2c_smbus acpi_pad vfio_pci vfio_pci_core vfio_virqfd zram fuse dm ---truncated---

Technical summary

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

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 4.16, < 5.10.163>= 5.11, < 5.15.87>= 5.16, < 6.0.19>= 6.1, < 6.1.5= 6.2

CVSS breakdown

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

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.10.163 / 5.15.87 / 6.0.19 or later

Fixed in 5.10.1635.15.876.0.19

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel >= 5.10.163 (for 5.10.x), >= 5.15.87 (for 5.15.x), >= 6.0.19 (for 6.0.x), or >= 6.1.5 (for 6.1.x)

Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
Determine which version branch your current kernel belongs to (e.g., 5.10.x, 5.15.x, 6.0.x, or 6.1.x)
Upgrade to a patched kernel version: For 5.10.x branch, upgrade to >= 5.10.163; For 5.15.x branch, upgrade to >= 5.15.87; For 6.0.x branch, upgrade to >= 6.0.19; For 6.1.x branch, upgrade to >= 6.1.5
After upgrading, reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming the patch commit 44c0e07e3972e3f2609d69ad873d4f342f8a68ec is included

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching distribution-specific configurations; check with your distribution vendor for official patched kernels

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53625 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-53625?

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

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here

Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.10.163 / 5.15.87 or later

Severity 5.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~16 hrs

ComplexityComplex

Typical engagementfrom $2,850

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2023-53625 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References