CVE-2023-53627
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-10-07
Last updated on: 2026-02-03
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 4.5 (inc) to 6.3.4 (inc) |
| huawei | hisi_sas_v3_hw | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-476 | The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability in the Linux kernel's hisi_sas driver occurs because the sas_dev lock was not grabbed when traversing the members of sas_dev.list. This can lead to a NULL pointer exception when freeing slots in the slot_complete_v3_hw() function, due to concurrent access and modification of the list. Essentially, the lack of proper locking causes a race condition that results in a kernel NULL pointer dereference and a fatal kernel panic.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause a kernel NULL pointer dereference leading to a kernel panic, which results in system crashes and instability. This can disrupt normal operations, cause data loss, and require system reboots, impacting availability and reliability of systems using the affected Linux kernel hisi_sas driver.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring the system kernel logs for specific error messages related to the hisi_sas driver, such as kernel NULL pointer dereference errors, kernel panic messages, or stack traces involving functions like dereg_device_v3_hw(), hisi_sas_abort_task(), and sas_scsi_find_task(). You can use commands like 'dmesg | grep -i hisi_sas' or 'journalctl -k | grep -i hisi_sas' to look for these error patterns in the kernel logs.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation involves updating the Linux kernel to a version where this vulnerability is fixed. The fix involves grabbing the sas_dev lock when traversing the members of sas_dev.list in dereg_device_v3_hw() and hisi_sas_release_tasks() functions to avoid concurrency issues. Until an update is applied, monitoring for kernel errors and avoiding workloads that heavily use the hisi_sas driver may reduce the risk of triggering the issue.