VDB-338933 · CVE-2023-54220 · Nessus 281530

Linux Kernel up to 6.4.11 uart_change_pm initialization

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4.4	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.11. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is the function uart_change_pm. The manipulation leads to initialization. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2023-54220. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.11. This issue affects the function uart_change_pm. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a initialization vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-665. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm() Unloading a hardware specific 8250 driver can produce error "Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address" about ten seconds after unloading the driver. This happens on uart_hangup() calling uart_change_pm(). Turns out commit 04e82793f068 ("serial: 8250: Reinit port->pm on port specific driver unbind") was only a partial fix. If the hardware specific driver has initialized port->pm function, we need to clear port->pm too. Just reinitializing port->ops does not do this. Otherwise serial8250_pm() will call port->pm() instead of serial8250_do_pm().

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-54220 since 12/30/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 04/26/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 281530 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54220), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.14.324, 4.19.293, 5.4.255, 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47 or 6.4.12 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 66f3e55960698c874b0598277913b478ecd29573/720a297b334e85d34099e83d1f375b92c3efedd6/b653289ca6460a6552c8590b75dfa84a0140a46b/bd70d0b28010d560a8be96b44fea86fe2ba016ae/18e27df4f2b4e257c317ba8076f31a888f6cc64b/0c05493341d6f2097f75f0a5dbb7b53a9e8c5f6c/375806616f8c772c33d40e112530887b37c1a816/dfe2aeb226fd5e19b0ee795f4f6ed8bc494c1534 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 (281530) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2941). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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

License

open-source

Website

Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.4

VulDB Base Score: 4.6
VulDB Temp Score: 4.4
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Initialization
CWE: CWE-665
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: 281530
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-54220

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

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-2023-54220 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-54220
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-338933
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2941 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 12/30/2025 16:32
Updated: 04/26/2026 18:28
Changes: 12/30/2025 16:32 (58), 12/31/2025 20:26 (2), 01/01/2026 09:01 (7), 04/26/2026 18:28 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.