Linux Kernel up to 5.10.191/5.15.127/6.1.46/6.4.11 cpu_buffer null pointer dereference

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4.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.191/5.15.127/6.1.46/6.4.11 and classified as critical. The affected element is the function cpu_buffer. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2023-53718. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.191/5.15.127/6.1.46/6.4.11 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects the function cpu_buffer. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ring-buffer: Do not swap cpu_buffer during resize process When ring_buffer_swap_cpu was called during resize process, the cpu buffer was swapped in the middle, resulting in incorrect state. Continuing to run in the wrong state will result in oops. This issue can be easily reproduced using the following two scripts: /tmp # cat test1.sh //#! /bin/sh for i in `seq 0 100000` do echo 2000 > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/buffer_size_kb sleep 0.5 echo 5000 > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/buffer_size_kb sleep 0.5 done /tmp # cat test2.sh //#! /bin/sh for i in `seq 0 100000` do echo irqsoff > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/current_tracer sleep 1 echo nop > /sys/kernel/debug/tracing/current_tracer sleep 1 done /tmp # ./test1.sh & /tmp # ./test2.sh & A typical oops log is as follows, sometimes with other different oops logs. [ 231.711293] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 9 at kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c:2026 rb_update_pages+0x378/0x3f8 [ 231.713375] Modules linked in: [ 231.714735] CPU: 0 PID: 9 Comm: kworker/0:1 Tainted: G W 6.5.0-rc1-00276-g20edcec23f92 #15 [ 231.716750] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) [ 231.718152] Workqueue: events update_pages_handler [ 231.719714] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 231.721171] pc : rb_update_pages+0x378/0x3f8 [ 231.722212] lr : rb_update_pages+0x25c/0x3f8 [ 231.723248] sp : ffff800082b9bd50 [ 231.724169] x29: ffff800082b9bd50 x28: ffff8000825f7000 x27: 0000000000000000 [ 231.726102] x26: 0000000000000001 x25: fffffffffffff010 x24: 0000000000000ff0 [ 231.728122] x23: ffff0000c3a0b600 x22: ffff0000c3a0b5c0 x21: fffffffffffffe0a [ 231.730203] x20: ffff0000c3a0b600 x19: ffff0000c0102400 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 231.732329] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000ffffe7aa8510 [ 231.734212] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000002 [ 231.736291] x11: ffff8000826998a8 x10: ffff800082b9baf0 x9 : ffff800081137558 [ 231.738195] x8 : fffffc00030e82c8 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000001 [ 231.740192] x5 : ffff0000ffbafe00 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000 [ 231.742118] x2 : 00000000000006aa x1 : 0000000000000001 x0 : ffff0000c0007208 [ 231.744196] Call trace: [ 231.744892] rb_update_pages+0x378/0x3f8 [ 231.745893] update_pages_handler+0x1c/0x38 [ 231.746893] process_one_work+0x1f0/0x468 [ 231.747852] worker_thread+0x54/0x410 [ 231.748737] kthread+0x124/0x138 [ 231.749549] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 [ 231.750434] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [ 233.720486] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 [ 233.721696] Mem abort info: [ 233.721935] ESR = 0x0000000096000004 [ 233.722283] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 233.722596] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 233.722805] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 233.723026] FSC = 0x04: level 0 translation fault [ 233.723458] Data abort info: [ 233.723734] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000004, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 233.724176] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 233.724589] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 233.725075] user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000104943000 [ 233.725592] [0000000000000000] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000 [ 233.726231] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000004 [#1] PREEMPT SMP [ 233.726720] Modules linked in: [ 233.727007] CPU: 0 PID: 9 Comm: kworker/0:1 Tainted: G W 6.5.0-rc1-00276-g20edcec23f92 #15 [ 233.727777] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) [ 233.728225] Workqueue: events update_pages_handler [ 233.728655] pstate: 200000c5 (nzCv daIF -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 233.729054] pc : rb_update_pages+0x1a8/0x3f8 [ 233.729334] lr : rb_update_pages+0x154/0x3f8 [ 233.729592] sp : ffff800082b9bd50 [ 233.729792] x29: ffff800082b9bd50 x28: ffff8000825f7000 x27: 00000000 ---truncated---

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2023-53718 since 10/22/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 297090 (SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2026:0316-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47 or 6.4.12 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 66a3b2a121386702663065d5c9e5a33c03d3f4a2/49b830d75f03d5dd41146d10e4d3e2a8211c4b94/128c06a34cfe55212632533a706b050d54552741/8a96c0288d0737ad77882024974c075345c72011 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 Tenable (297090) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2394). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Affected

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.191
• 5.15.127
• 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
• 6.1.42
• 6.1.43
• 6.1.44
• 6.1.45
• 6.1.46
• 6.4.0
• 6.4.1
• 6.4.2
• 6.4.3
• 6.4.4
• 6.4.5
• 6.4.6
• 6.4.7
• 6.4.8
• 6.4.9
• 6.4.10
• 6.4.11

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 297090
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2026:0316-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.192/5.15.128/6.1.47/6.4.12
Patch: 66a3b2a121386702663065d5c9e5a33c03d3f4a2/49b830d75f03d5dd41146d10e4d3e2a8211c4b94/128c06a34cfe55212632533a706b050d54552741/8a96c0288d0737ad77882024974c075345c72011

Timelineinfo

10/22/2025 Advisory disclosed
10/22/2025 +0 days CVE reserved
10/22/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
02/28/2026 +129 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-53718 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-53718
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-329368
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2394 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 10/22/2025 17:53
Updated: 02/28/2026 13:09
Changes: 10/22/2025 17:53 (58), 01/02/2026 06:45 (7), 01/29/2026 16:16 (2), 02/28/2026 13:09 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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