CVE-2023-53167
- Published: 2025-09-15T14:15:38.457
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing: Fix null pointer dereference in tracing_err_log_open()
Fix an issue in function ‘tracing_err_log_open’.
The function doesn’t call ‘seq_open’ if the file is opened only with
write permissions, which results in ‘file->private_data’ being left as null.
If we then use ‘lseek’ on that opened file, ‘seq_lseek’ dereferences
‘file->private_data’ in ‘mutex_lock(&m->lock)’, resulting in a kernel panic.
Writing to this node requires root privileges, therefore this bug
has very little security impact.
Tracefs node: /sys/kernel/tracing/error_log
Example Kernel panic:
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000038
Call trace:
mutex_lock+0x30/0x110
seq_lseek+0x34/0xb8
__arm64_sys_lseek+0x6c/0xb8
invoke_syscall+0x58/0x13c
el0_svc_common+0xc4/0x10c
do_el0_svc+0x24/0x98
el0_svc+0x24/0x88
el0t_64_sync_handler+0x84/0xe4
el0t_64_sync+0x1b4/0x1b8
Code: d503201f aa0803e0 aa1f03e1 aa0103e9 (c8e97d02)
—[ end trace 561d1b49c12cf8a5 ]—
Kernel panic – not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception
Related CVE by CWE
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How to fix CVE-2023-53167
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Fix null pointer dereference in tracing_err_log_open() Fix an issue in function ‘tracing_err_log_open’. The function doesn’t call ‘seq_open’ if the file is opened only with write permissions, which results in ‘file->private_data’ being left as null. If we then use ‘lseek’ on that opened file, ‘seq_lseek’ […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
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CVE details first published to NVD database
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No vendor/product data available.