Linux Kernel up to 5.15.104/6.1.21/6.2.8 usb tcpm.c discover_identity state issue

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.104/6.1.21/6.2.8. This affects the function discover_identity of the file drivers/usb/typec/tcpm/tcpm.c of the component usb. The manipulation leads to state issue. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2023-53048. There is no exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.104/6.1.21/6.2.8. This issue affects the function discover_identity of the file drivers/usb/typec/tcpm/tcpm.c of the component usb. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-371. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: typec: tcpm: fix warning when handle discover_identity message Since both source and sink device can send discover_identity message in PD3, kernel may dump below warning: ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 169 at drivers/usb/typec/tcpm/tcpm.c:1446 tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 169 Comm: 1-0050 Not tainted 6.1.1-00038-g6a3c36cf1da2-dirty #567 Hardware name: NXP i.MX8MPlus EVK board (DT) pstate: 20000005 (nzCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0 lr : tcpm_queue_vdm+0x2c/0xf0 sp : ffff80000c19bcd0 x29: ffff80000c19bcd0 x28: 0000000000000001 x27: ffff0000d11c8ab8 x26: ffff0000d11cc000 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 00000000ff008081 x23: 0000000000000001 x22: 00000000ff00a081 x21: ffff80000c19bdbc x20: 0000000000000000 x19: ffff0000d11c8080 x18: ffffffffffffffff x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: ffff0000d716f580 x14: 0000000000000001 x13: ffff0000d716f507 x12: 0000000000000001 x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000020 x9 : 00000000000ee098 x8 : 00000000ffffffff x7 : 000000000000001c x6 : ffff0000d716f580 x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000 x2 : ffff80000c19bdbc x1 : 00000000ff00a081 x0 : 0000000000000004 Call trace: tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0 tcpm_pd_rx_handler+0x340/0x1ab0 kthread_worker_fn+0xcc/0x18c kthread+0x10c/0x110 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Below sequences may trigger this warning: tcpm_send_discover_work(work) tcpm_send_vdm(port, USB_SID_PD, CMD_DISCOVER_IDENT, NULL, 0); tcpm_queue_vdm(port, header, data, count); port->vdm_state = VDM_STATE_READY; vdm_state_machine_work(work); <-- received discover_identity from partner vdm_run_state_machine(port); port->vdm_state = VDM_STATE_SEND_MESSAGE; mod_vdm_delayed_work(port, x); tcpm_pd_rx_handler(work); tcpm_pd_data_request(port, msg); tcpm_handle_vdm_request(port, msg->payload, cnt); tcpm_queue_vdm(port, response[0], &response[1], rlen - 1); --> WARN_ON(port->vdm_state > VDM_STATE_DONE); For this case, the state machine could still send out discover identity message later if we skip current discover_identity message. So we should handle the received message firstly and override the pending discover_identity message without warning in this case. Then, a delayed send_discover work will send discover_identity message again.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-53048 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/12/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 250026 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53048), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.105, 6.1.22 or 6.2.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch bb579b3f75c60bf488a7c36e092e8be583407d53/d55ca2d2ea1a7ec553213986993fba8c0257381c/e37d2c489d71e94ed4a39529bc9520a7fd983d42/abfc4fa28f0160df61c7149567da4f6494dfb488 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (250026). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.104
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4
• 6.2.5
• 6.2.6
• 6.2.7
• 6.2.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion