Linux Kernel up to 6.3.3 ALSA init_stream use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.4.243/5.10.180/5.15.112/6.1.29/6.3.3. It has been classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function init_stream of the component ALSA. This manipulation causes use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-54084. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.4.243/5.10.180/5.15.112/6.1.29/6.3.3. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function init_stream of the component ALSA. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: firewire-digi00x: prevent potential use after free This code was supposed to return an error code if init_stream() failed, but it instead freed dg00x->rx_stream and returned success. This potentially leads to a use after free.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-54084 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. 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 01/02/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279875 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54084), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.4.244, 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30 or 6.3.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5009aead17f060753428e249eb0246eb1c2f8b86/13c5fa1248bf06e95a25907c1be83948b8c44c50/bbb5ac533ca6c4e2775a95388c9c0c610bb442b7/ee1a221d947809c0308f27567c07a3ac93406057/67148395efa2c1fb20e98fca359b20e7a6c81fe4/c0e72058d5e21982e61a29de6b098f7c1f0db498 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 (279875) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2929). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.4.243
• 5.10.180
• 5.15.112
• 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
• 6.3.0
• 6.3.1
• 6.3.2
• 6.3.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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Entryinfo

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

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