# CVE-2023-53274: clk: mediatek: mt8183: Add back SSPM related clocks

> Out-of-bound writes in the MT8183 clock driver can cause memory corruption, leading to system crashes or potential code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 16 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53274, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53274, GHSA-23pr-hf4g-r8h2, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53274

## What is CVE-2023-53274?

CVE-2023-53274 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 Sep 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:

clk: mediatek: mt8183: Add back SSPM related clocks

This reverts commit 860690a93ef23b567f781c1b631623e27190f101.

On the MT8183, the SSPM related clocks were removed claiming a lack of
usage. This however causes some issues when the driver was converted to
the new simple-probe mechanism. This mechanism allocates enough space
for all the clocks defined in the clock driver, not the highest index
in the DT binding. This leads to out-of-bound writes if their are holes
in the DT binding or the driver (due to deprecated or unimplemented
clocks). These errors can go unnoticed and cause memory corruption,
leading to crashes in unrelated areas, or nothing at all. KASAN will
detect them.

Add the SSPM related clocks back to the MT8183 clock driver to fully
implement the DT binding. The SSPM clocks are for the power management
co-processor, and should never be turned off. They are marked as such.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53274?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53274?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53274 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53274 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-2023-53274 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53274 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 Sep 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-2023-53274 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-2023-53274/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53274/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53274
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53274
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53274

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53274/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.