# CVE-2023-53755: dmaengine: ptdma: check for null desc before calling pt_cmd_callback

> A null pointer dereference in the AMD PTDMA driver causes a kernel panic during host shutdown, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53755, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53755, GHSA-x28w-7692-rg3v, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53755

## What is CVE-2023-53755?

CVE-2023-53755 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 8 Dec 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:

dmaengine: ptdma: check for null desc before calling pt_cmd_callback

Resolves a panic that can occur on AMD systems, typically during host
shutdown, after the PTDMA driver had been exercised. The issue was
the pt_issue_pending() function is mistakenly assuming that there will
be at least one descriptor in the Submitted queue when the function
is called. However, it is possible that both the Submitted and Issued
queues could be empty, which could result in pt_cmd_callback() being
mistakenly called with a NULL pointer.
Ref: Bugzilla Bug 216856.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53755?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53755?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53755 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53755 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53755 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53755 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 8 Dec 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-2023-53755 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2023-53755/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53755/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53755
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53755
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53755

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53755/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.