CVE-2023-53542 ARM: dts: exynos: Use Exynos5420 compatible for the MIPI video phy

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A missing device tree compatible string for Exynos5420 MIPI video phy causes a kernel panic, leading to denial of service.

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-2023-53542?

CVE-2023-53542 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 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:

ARM: dts: exynos: Use Exynos5420 compatible for the MIPI video phy

For some reason, the driver adding support for Exynos5420 MIPI phy back in 2016 wasn't used on Exynos5420, which caused a kernel panic. Add the proper compatible for it.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53542?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53542?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2023-53542 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53542, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53542, GHSA-j5p4-q37g-962r, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53542.

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