CVE-2023-54044 spmi: Add a check for remove callback when removing a SPMI driver
A missing check for a remove callback in the Linux kernel SPMI driver can cause a NULL pointer dereference and system crash when removing a driver.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-54044?
CVE-2023-54044 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:
spmi: Add a check for remove callback when removing a SPMI driver
When removing a SPMI driver, there can be a crash due to NULL pointer dereference if it does not have a remove callback defined. This is one such call trace observed when removing the QCOM SPMI PMIC driver:
dump_backtrace.cfi_jt+0x0/0x8 dump_stack_lvl+0xd8/0x16c panic+0x188/0x498 __cfi_slowpath+0x0/0x214 __cfi_slowpath+0x1dc/0x214 spmi_drv_remove+0x16c/0x1e0 device_release_driver_internal+0x468/0x79c driver_detach+0x11c/0x1a0 bus_remove_driver+0xc4/0x124 driver_unregister+0x58/0x84 cleanup_module+0x1c/0xc24 [qcom_spmi_pmic] __do_sys_delete_module+0x3ec/0x53c __arm64_sys_delete_module+0x18/0x28 el0_svc_common+0xdc/0x294 el0_svc+0x38/0x9c el0_sync_handler+0x8c/0xf0 el0_sync+0x1b4/0x1c0
If a driver has all its resources allocated through devm_() APIs and does not need any other explicit cleanup, it would not require a remove callback to be defined. Hence, add a check for remove callback presence before calling it when removing a SPMI driver.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54044?
How do I fix CVE-2023-54044?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2023-54044 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54044 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-54044, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54044, GHSA-vx9r-hw29-38g6, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54044.