# CVE-2023-52616: crypto: lib/mpi - Fix unexpected pointer access in mpi_ec_init

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's MPI library can cause a system crash during specific cryptographic operations.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 18 Mar 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52616, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52616, GHSA-3gvj-5493-c96f, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52616

## What is CVE-2023-52616?

CVE-2023-52616 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 18 Mar 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:

crypto: lib/mpi - Fix unexpected pointer access in mpi_ec_init

When the mpi_ec_ctx structure is initialized, some fields are not
cleared, causing a crash when referencing the field when the
structure was released. Initially, this issue was ignored because
memory for mpi_ec_ctx is allocated with the __GFP_ZERO flag.
For example, this error will be triggered when calculating the
Za value for SM2 separately.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52616?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52616?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52616 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52616 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52616 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52616 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 18 Mar 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-2023-52616 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2023-52616/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52616/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52616
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52616
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52616

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52616/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.