# CVE-2023-53458: media: cx23885: Fix a null-ptr-deref bug in buffer_prepare() and buffer_finish()

> A null pointer dereference in the cx23885 media driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash via buffer operations.

- **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:** 1 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53458, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53458, GHSA-j4qg-w554-c3hr, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53458, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53458

## What is CVE-2023-53458?

CVE-2023-53458 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:

media: cx23885: Fix a null-ptr-deref bug in buffer_prepare() and buffer_finish()

When the driver calls cx23885_risc_buffer() to prepare the buffer, the
function call dma_alloc_coherent may fail, resulting in a empty buffer
risc->cpu. Later when we free the buffer or access the buffer, null ptr
deref is triggered.

This bug is similar to the following one:
https://git.linuxtv.org/media_stage.git/commit/?id=2b064d91440b33fba5b452f2d1b31f13ae911d71.

We believe the bug can be also dynamically triggered from user side.
Similarly, we fix this by checking the return value of cx23885_risc_buffer()
and the value of risc->cpu before buffer free.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53458?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53458?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53458 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53458 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-2023-53458 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53458 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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-2023-53458 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-2023-53458/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53458/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53458
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53458
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53458

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53458/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.