# CVE-2023-52485: drm/amd/display: Wake DMCUB before sending a command

> A missing power state check in the AMD display driver can cause a system hang when sending commands to the DMCUB, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-55256, AZL-55279, BELL-CVE-2023-52485, GHSA-69cq-jw85-57p8, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-52485, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2023-52485, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-52485, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52485

## What is CVE-2023-52485?

CVE-2023-52485 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drm/amd/display: Wake DMCUB before sending a command

[Why]
We can hang in place trying to send commands when the DMCUB isn't
powered on.

[How]
For functions that execute within a DC context or DC lock we can
wrap the direct calls to dm_execute_dmub_cmd/list with code that
exits idle power optimizations and reallows once we're done with
the command submission on success.

For DM direct submissions the DM will need to manage the enter/exit
sequencing manually.

We cannot invoke a DMCUB command directly within the DM execution
helper or we can deadlock.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52485?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52485?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52485 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52485 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52485 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52485 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52485 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52485/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52485/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52485
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52485
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52485

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52485/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.