#VU90656 NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2023-52473

Vulnerability identifier: #VU90656

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-52473

CWE-ID: CWE-476

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to NULL pointer dereference within the device_del() function in drivers/thermal/thermal_core.c. A local user can perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: 6.6, 6.6 rc1, 6.6 rc2, 6.6 rc3, 6.6 rc4, 6.6 rc5, 6.6 rc6, 6.6.1, 6.6.2, 6.6.3, 6.6.4, 6.6.5, 6.6.6, 6.6.7, 6.6.8, 6.6.9, 6.6.10, 6.6.11, 6.6.12, 6.6.13, 6.7, 6.7 rc1, 6.7 rc2, 6.7 rc3, 6.7 rc5, 6.7 rc6, 6.7 rc7, 6.7.1, 6.8 rc1, 6.8 rc2, 6.8 rc5

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/335176dd8ebaca6493807dceea33c478305667fa
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/02871710b93058eb1249d5847c0b2d1c2c3c98ae
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04e6ccfc93c5a1aa1d75a537cf27e418895e20ea
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.6.14
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.7.2
https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.8

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.