Linux Kernel up to 5.15.122/6.1.41/6.4.6 ASoC wcd_mbhc_start null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.122/6.1.41/6.4.6. Affected is the function wcd_mbhc_start of the component ASoC. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability was named CVE-2023-53666. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.122/6.1.41/6.4.6. This affects the function wcd_mbhc_start of the component ASoC. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ASoC: codecs: wcd938x: fix missing mbhc init error handling MBHC initialisation can fail so add the missing error handling to avoid dereferencing an error pointer when later configuring the jack: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address fffffffffffffff8 pc : wcd_mbhc_start+0x28/0x380 [snd_soc_wcd_mbhc] lr : wcd938x_codec_set_jack+0x28/0x48 [snd_soc_wcd938x] Call trace: wcd_mbhc_start+0x28/0x380 [snd_soc_wcd_mbhc] wcd938x_codec_set_jack+0x28/0x48 [snd_soc_wcd938x] snd_soc_component_set_jack+0x28/0x8c [snd_soc_core] qcom_snd_wcd_jack_setup+0x7c/0x19c [snd_soc_qcom_common] sc8280xp_snd_init+0x20/0x2c [snd_soc_sc8280xp] snd_soc_link_init+0x28/0x90 [snd_soc_core] snd_soc_bind_card+0x628/0xbfc [snd_soc_core] snd_soc_register_card+0xec/0x104 [snd_soc_core] devm_snd_soc_register_card+0x4c/0xa4 [snd_soc_core] sc8280xp_platform_probe+0xf0/0x108 [snd_soc_sc8280xp]

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-53666 since 10/07/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 5.15.123, 6.1.42 or 6.4.7 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5a34d252052b5da743ef82591c860fc947384d4e/bb241ae928c694e365c30c888c9eb02dcc812dfd/31ee704c84c4bf4df8521ef1478c161f710d0f94/7dfae2631bfbdebecd35fe7b472ab3cc95c9ed66 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 databases at EUVD (EUVD-2025-31969) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2229). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.122
• 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
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.1.30
• 6.1.31
• 6.1.32
• 6.1.33
• 6.1.34
• 6.1.35
• 6.1.36
• 6.1.37
• 6.1.38
• 6.1.39
• 6.1.40
• 6.1.41
• 6.4.0
• 6.4.1
• 6.4.2
• 6.4.3
• 6.4.4
• 6.4.5
• 6.4.6

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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