CVE-2023-53480 kobject: Add sanity check for kset->kobj.ktype in kset_register()
A missing sanity check in the Linux kernel allows a null pointer dereference during kset registration, potentially causing a system crash.
- 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
What is CVE-2023-53480?
CVE-2023-53480 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:
kobject: Add sanity check for kset->kobj.ktype in kset_register()
When I register a kset in the following way: static struct kset my_kset; kobject_set_name(&my_kset.kobj, "my_kset"); ret = kset_register(&my_kset);
A null pointer dereference exception is occurred: [ 4453.568337] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at \ virtual address 0000000000000028 ... ... [ 4453.810361] Call trace: [ 4453.813062] kobject_get_ownership+0xc/0x34 [ 4453.817493] kobject_add_internal+0x98/0x274 [ 4453.822005] kset_register+0x5c/0xb4 [ 4453.825820] my_kobj_init+0x44/0x1000 [my_kset] ... ...
Because I didn't initialize my_kset.kobj.ktype.
According to the description in Documentation/core-api/kobject.rst: - A ktype is the type of object that embeds a kobject. Every structure that embeds a kobject needs a corresponding ktype.
So add sanity check to make sure kset->kobj.ktype is not NULL.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53480?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53480?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-53480 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53480 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53480, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53480, GHSA-8xg4-jw8q-mm7v, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53480.