CVE-2023-53542
Description
A configuration error was found in the Linux kernel's Exynos device tree for the MIPI video PHY. A local user on Exynos5420 systems can trigger this issue when the MIPI PHY driver is loaded, but the device tree specifies an incorrect compatible string that doesn't match the actual hardware. This causes the driver to fail initialization with a kernel panic, resulting in system crash and denial of service.
Statement
Back in 2016, driver support was added for the Exynos5420 MIPI PHY hardware. However, the device tree configuration for Exynos5420 was never updated to use the new compatible string, continuing to reference an older or incorrect identifier. When the system attempts to initialize the MIPI video PHY during boot or driver loading, the mismatch between what the device tree advertises and what the driver expects causes initialization to fail catastrophically. Rather than gracefully handling the incompatibility, the kernel panics. This is a straightforward configuration bug—the hardware support exists, but the platform description doesn't point to it correctly.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability,Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory; Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
When a memory buffer is accessed using the wrong type, it could read or write memory out of the bounds of the buffer, if the allocated buffer is smaller than the type that the code is attempting to access, leading to a crash and possibly code execution.
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