# CVE-2023-54178: of: unittest: fix null pointer dereferencing in of_unittest_find_node_by_name()

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's device tree unit test code can cause a system crash if memory allocation fails.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Not stated
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54178, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54178, GHSA-wxwm-5fjr-9g52, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54178

## What is CVE-2023-54178?

CVE-2023-54178 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 Dec 2025. 

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

of: unittest: fix null pointer dereferencing in of_unittest_find_node_by_name()

when kmalloc() fail to allocate memory in kasprintf(), name
or full_name will be NULL, strcmp() will cause
null pointer dereference.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54178?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54178?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54178 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54178 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54178 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54178 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 Dec 2025. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54178 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-2023-54178/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54178/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54178
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54178
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54178

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54178/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.