CVE-2023-52898 xhci: Fix null pointer dereference when host dies

What is CVE-2023-52898?

CVE-2023-52898 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Aug 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:

xhci: Fix null pointer dereference when host dies

Make sure xhci_free_dev() and xhci_kill_endpoint_urbs() do not race and cause null pointer dereference when host suddenly dies.

Usb core may call xhci_free_dev() which frees the xhci->devs[slot_id] virt device at the same time that xhci_kill_endpoint_urbs() tries to loop through all the device's endpoints, checking if there are any cancelled urbs left to give back.

hold the xhci spinlock while freeing the virt device

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52898?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-52898?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2023-52898 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52898 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-52898, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52898, GHSA-53f2-x8g3-2v76, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52898.