# CVE-2023-52853: hid: cp2112: Fix duplicate workqueue initialization

> A duplicate workqueue initialization in the cp2112 HID driver can cause a rare NULL pointer dereference, leading to a kernel crash.

- **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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52853, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52853, GHSA-w8wx-3v4m-pwrr, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52853

## What is CVE-2023-52853?

CVE-2023-52853 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:

hid: cp2112: Fix duplicate workqueue initialization

Previously the cp2112 driver called INIT_DELAYED_WORK within
cp2112_gpio_irq_startup, resulting in duplicate initilizations of the
workqueue on subsequent IRQ startups following an initial request. This
resulted in a warning in set_work_data in workqueue.c, as well as a rare
NULL dereference within process_one_work in workqueue.c.

Initialize the workqueue within _probe instead.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52853?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52853?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52853 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52853 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-2023-52853 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52853 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-2023-52853 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-2023-52853/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52853/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52853
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52853
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52853

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52853/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.