CVE-2023-53603 scsi: qla2xxx: Avoid fcport pointer dereference

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's qla2xxx SCSI driver can cause a system crash, requiring a kernel patch.

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-2023-53603?

CVE-2023-53603 is a medium-severity 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:

scsi: qla2xxx: Avoid fcport pointer dereference

Klocwork reported warning of NULL pointer may be dereferenced. The routine exits when sa_ctl is NULL and fcport is allocated after the exit call thus causing NULL fcport pointer to dereference at the time of exit.

To avoid fcport pointer dereference, exit the routine when sa_ctl is NULL.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53603?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53603?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2023-53603 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53603 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53603, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53603, GHSA-2795-wfr2-m5v3, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53603.

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