# CVE-2023-54027: iio: core: Prevent invalid memory access when there is no parent

> A local attacker can cause a kernel crash by creating a specific IIO dummy device via configfs, leading to a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54027, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54027, GHSA-jwx3-9wmp-w467, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54027

## What is CVE-2023-54027?

CVE-2023-54027 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:

iio: core: Prevent invalid memory access when there is no parent

Commit 813665564b3d ("iio: core: Convert to use firmware node handle
instead of OF node") switched the kind of nodes to use for label
retrieval in device registration.  Probably an unwanted change in that
commit was that if the device has no parent then NULL pointer is
accessed.  This is what happens in the stock IIO dummy driver when a
new entry is created in configfs:

  # mkdir /sys/kernel/config/iio/devices/dummy/foo
  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: ...
  ...
  Call Trace:
  __iio_device_register
  iio_dummy_probe

Since there seems to be no reason to make a parent device of an IIO
dummy device mandatory, let’s prevent the invalid memory access in
__iio_device_register when the parent device is NULL.  With this
change, the IIO dummy driver works fine with configfs.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54027?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54027?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54027 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54027 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54027 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54027 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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-2023-54027 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-2023-54027/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54027/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54027
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54027
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54027

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54027/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.