# CVE-2023-53048: usb: typec: tcpm: fix warning when handle discover_identity message

> A flaw in the Linux kernel USB Type-C driver allows a remote attacker to trigger a kernel warning and potential denial of service via crafted PD3 messages.

- **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:** 2 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53048, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53048, GHSA-5v2q-9mrf-qmcj, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53048

## What is CVE-2023-53048?

CVE-2023-53048 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. 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:

usb: typec: tcpm: fix warning when handle discover_identity message

Since both source and sink device can send discover_identity message in
PD3, kernel may dump below warning:

------------[ cut here ]------------
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 169 at drivers/usb/typec/tcpm/tcpm.c:1446 tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 PID: 169 Comm: 1-0050 Not tainted 6.1.1-00038-g6a3c36cf1da2-dirty #567
Hardware name: NXP i.MX8MPlus EVK board (DT)
pstate: 20000005 (nzCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
pc : tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0
lr : tcpm_queue_vdm+0x2c/0xf0
sp : ffff80000c19bcd0
x29: ffff80000c19bcd0 x28: 0000000000000001 x27: ffff0000d11c8ab8
x26: ffff0000d11cc000 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 00000000ff008081
x23: 0000000000000001 x22: 00000000ff00a081 x21: ffff80000c19bdbc
x20: 0000000000000000 x19: ffff0000d11c8080 x18: ffffffffffffffff
x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: ffff0000d716f580
x14: 0000000000000001 x13: ffff0000d716f507 x12: 0000000000000001
x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000020 x9 : 00000000000ee098
x8 : 00000000ffffffff x7 : 000000000000001c x6 : ffff0000d716f580
x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000
x2 : ffff80000c19bdbc x1 : 00000000ff00a081 x0 : 0000000000000004
Call trace:
tcpm_queue_vdm+0xe0/0xf0
tcpm_pd_rx_handler+0x340/0x1ab0
kthread_worker_fn+0xcc/0x18c
kthread+0x10c/0x110
ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

Below sequences may trigger this warning:

tcpm_send_discover_work(work)
  tcpm_send_vdm(port, USB_SID_PD, CMD_DISCOVER_IDENT, NULL, 0);
   tcpm_queue_vdm(port, header, data, count);
    port->vdm_state = VDM_STATE_READY;

vdm_state_machine_work(work);
			<-- received discover_identity from partner
 vdm_run_state_machine(port);
  port->vdm_state = VDM_STATE_SEND_MESSAGE;
   mod_vdm_delayed_work(port, x);

tcpm_pd_rx_handler(work);
 tcpm_pd_data_request(port, msg);
  tcpm_handle_vdm_request(port, msg->payload, cnt);
   tcpm_queue_vdm(port, response[0], &response[1], rlen - 1);
--> WARN_ON(port->vdm_state > VDM_STATE_DONE);

For this case, the state machine could still send out discover
identity message later if we skip current discover_identity message.
So we should handle the received message firstly and override the pending
discover_identity message without warning in this case. Then, a delayed
send_discover work will send discover_identity message again.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53048?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53048?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53048 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53048 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-2023-53048 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53048 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 May 2025. 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-2023-53048 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-2023-53048/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53048/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53048
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53048
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53048

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53048/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.