# CVE-2023-52849: cxl/mem: Fix shutdown order

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel CXL memory driver causes a system crash during device shutdown, 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:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52849, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52849, GHSA-7h7v-xpwq-j3w4, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52849

## What is CVE-2023-52849?

CVE-2023-52849 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 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:

cxl/mem: Fix shutdown order

Ira reports that removing cxl_mock_mem causes a crash with the following
trace:

 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000044
 [..]
 RIP: 0010:cxl_region_decode_reset+0x7f/0x180 [cxl_core]
 [..]
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  cxl_region_detach+0xe8/0x210 [cxl_core]
  cxl_decoder_kill_region+0x27/0x40 [cxl_core]
  cxld_unregister+0x29/0x40 [cxl_core]
  devres_release_all+0xb8/0x110
  device_unbind_cleanup+0xe/0x70
  device_release_driver_internal+0x1d2/0x210
  bus_remove_device+0xd7/0x150
  device_del+0x155/0x3e0
  device_unregister+0x13/0x60
  devm_release_action+0x4d/0x90
  ? __pfx_unregister_port+0x10/0x10 [cxl_core]
  delete_endpoint+0x121/0x130 [cxl_core]
  devres_release_all+0xb8/0x110
  device_unbind_cleanup+0xe/0x70
  device_release_driver_internal+0x1d2/0x210
  bus_remove_device+0xd7/0x150
  device_del+0x155/0x3e0
  ? lock_release+0x142/0x290
  cdev_device_del+0x15/0x50
  cxl_memdev_unregister+0x54/0x70 [cxl_core]

This crash is due to the clearing out the cxl_memdev's driver context
(@cxlds) before the subsystem is done with it. This is ultimately due to
the region(s), that this memdev is a member, being torn down and expecting
to be able to de-reference @cxlds, like here:

static int cxl_region_decode_reset(struct cxl_region *cxlr, int count)
...
                if (cxlds->rcd)
                        goto endpoint_reset;
...

Fix it by keeping the driver context valid until memdev-device
unregistration, and subsequently the entire stack of related
dependencies, unwinds.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52849?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52849?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52849 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52849 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-2023-52849 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52849 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 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-2023-52849 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-2023-52849/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52849/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52849
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52849
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52849

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52849/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.