# CVE-2023-52860: drivers/perf: hisi: use cpuhp_state_remove_instance_nocalls() for hisi_hns3_pmu uninit process

> A null pointer dereference in the HiSilicon HNS3 PMU driver during device unregistration can cause a kernel crash, 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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52860, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52860, GHSA-7xqf-4p6f-w78m, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52860

## What is CVE-2023-52860?

CVE-2023-52860 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:

drivers/perf: hisi: use cpuhp_state_remove_instance_nocalls() for hisi_hns3_pmu uninit process

When tearing down a 'hisi_hns3' PMU, we mistakenly run the CPU hotplug
callbacks after the device has been unregistered, leading to fireworks
when we try to execute empty function callbacks within the driver:

  | Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000
  | CPU: 0 PID: 15 Comm: cpuhp/0 Tainted: G        W  O      5.12.0-rc4+ #1
  | Hardware name:  , BIOS KpxxxFPGA 1P B600 V143 04/22/2021
  | pstate: 80400009 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO BTYPE=--)
  | pc : perf_pmu_migrate_context+0x98/0x38c
  | lr : perf_pmu_migrate_context+0x94/0x38c
  |
  | Call trace:
  |  perf_pmu_migrate_context+0x98/0x38c
  |  hisi_hns3_pmu_offline_cpu+0x104/0x12c [hisi_hns3_pmu]

Use cpuhp_state_remove_instance_nocalls() instead of
cpuhp_state_remove_instance() so that the notifiers don't execute after
the PMU device has been unregistered.

[will: Rewrote commit message]

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52860?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52860?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52860 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52860 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-2023-52860 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52860 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-2023-52860 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-2023-52860/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52860/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52860
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52860
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52860

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52860/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.