CVE-2023-53561

Description

From CVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: wwan: iosm: fix NULL pointer dereference when removing device In suspend and resume cycle, the removal and rescan of device ends up in NULL pointer dereference. During driver initialization, if the ipc_imem_wwan_channel_init() fails to get the valid device capabilities it returns an error and further no resource (wwan struct) will be allocated. Now in this situation if driver removal procedure is initiated it would result in NULL pointer exception since unallocated wwan struct is dereferenced inside ipc_wwan_deinit(). ipc_imem_run_state_worker() to handle the called functions return value and to release the resource in failure case. It also reports the link down event in failure cases. The user space application can handle this event to do a device reset for restoring the device communication.

Statement

The bug is a NULL pointer dereference in the iosm WWAN driver during device removal after a failed initialization, leading to a local kernel crash (DoS). Exploitation requires local ability to trigger suspend/resume or device rescans with the affected hardware. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact. Risk is primarily availability on systems using Intel IOSM WWAN devices.

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).

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score6.25.5N/A
Attack VectorLocalLocalN/A
Attack ComplexityLowLowN/A
Privileges RequiredNoneLowN/A
User InteractionNoneNoneN/A
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedN/A
ConfidentialityNoneNoneN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneN/A
Availability ImpactHighHighN/A

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.

Integrity,Confidentiality

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory

In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.

Frequently Asked Questions

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