Linux Kernel up to 6.2.4 tty tty_driver_lookup_tty null pointer dereference

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5.5	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.2.4. The affected element is the function tty_driver_lookup_tty of the component tty. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-54198. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.2.4 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function tty_driver_lookup_tty of the component tty. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to 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. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tty: fix out-of-bounds access in tty_driver_lookup_tty() When specifying an invalid console= device like console=tty3270, tty_driver_lookup_tty() returns the tty struct without checking whether index is a valid number. To reproduce: qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -nographic -serial mon:stdio \ -kernel ../linux-build-x86/arch/x86/boot/bzImage \ -append "console=ttyS0 console=tty3270" This crashes with: [ 0.770599] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000ef [ 0.771265] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 0.771773] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 0.772609] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI [ 0.774878] RIP: 0010:tty_open+0x268/0x6f0 [ 0.784013] chrdev_open+0xbd/0x230 [ 0.784444] ? cdev_device_add+0x80/0x80 [ 0.784920] do_dentry_open+0x1e0/0x410 [ 0.785389] path_openat+0xca9/0x1050 [ 0.785813] do_filp_open+0xaa/0x150 [ 0.786240] file_open_name+0x133/0x1b0 [ 0.786746] filp_open+0x27/0x50 [ 0.787244] console_on_rootfs+0x14/0x4d [ 0.787800] kernel_init_freeable+0x1e4/0x20d [ 0.788383] ? rest_init+0xc0/0xc0 [ 0.788881] kernel_init+0x11/0x120 [ 0.789356] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-54198 since 12/30/2025. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 298924 (SUSE SLES12 : Recommended update for initial livepatch (SUSE-SU-2026:0473-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.14.308, 4.19.276, 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.100, 6.1.18 or 6.2.5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3df6f492f500a16c231f07ccc6f6ed1302caddf9/b79109d6470aaae7062998353e3a19449055829d/953a4a352a0c185460ae1449e4c6e6658e55fdfc/84ea44dc3e4ecb2632586238014bf6722aa5843b/f9d9d25ad1f0d060eaf297a2f7f03b5855a45561/765566110eb0da3cf60198b0165ecceeaafa6444/fcfeaa570f7a5c2d5f4f14931909531ff18b7fde/db4df8e9d79e7d37732c1a1b560958e8dadfefa1 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 (298924) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2941). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• IBM Power Hardware Management Console
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• IBM DataPower Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 4.14.307
• 4.19.275
• 5.4.234
• 5.10.172
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.15.46
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 5.15.78
• 5.15.79
• 5.15.80
• 5.15.81
• 5.15.82
• 5.15.83
• 5.15.84
• 5.15.85
• 5.15.86
• 5.15.87
• 5.15.88
• 5.15.89
• 5.15.90
• 5.15.91
• 5.15.92
• 5.15.93
• 5.15.94
• 5.15.95
• 5.15.96
• 5.15.97
• 5.15.98
• 5.15.99
• 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
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4

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: 5.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

VulDB Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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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: 298924
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES12 : Recommended update for initial livepatch (SUSE-SU-2026:0473-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 4.14.308/4.19.276/5.4.235/5.10.173/5.15.100/6.1.18/6.2.5
Patch: 3df6f492f500a16c231f07ccc6f6ed1302caddf9/b79109d6470aaae7062998353e3a19449055829d/953a4a352a0c185460ae1449e4c6e6658e55fdfc/84ea44dc3e4ecb2632586238014bf6722aa5843b/f9d9d25ad1f0d060eaf297a2f7f03b5855a45561/765566110eb0da3cf60198b0165ecceeaafa6444/fcfeaa570f7a5c2d5f4f14931909531ff18b7fde/db4df8e9d79e7d37732c1a1b560958e8dadfefa1

Timelineinfo

12/30/2025 Advisory disclosed
12/30/2025 +0 days CVE reserved
12/30/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
04/26/2026 +117 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-54198 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-54198
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-338927
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2941 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 12/30/2025 16:29
Updated: 04/26/2026 14:41
Changes: 12/30/2025 16:29 (59), 01/01/2026 07:31 (7), 02/13/2026 21:09 (2), 04/26/2026 14:41 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

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