CVE-2023-53294

  • Published: 2025-09-16T08:15:38.683

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

fs/ntfs3: Fix null-ptr-deref on inode->i_op in ntfs_lookup()

Syzbot reported a null-ptr-deref bug:

ntfs3: loop0: Different NTFS’ sector size (1024) and media sector size
(512)
ntfs3: loop0: Mark volume as dirty due to NTFS errors
general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address
0xdffffc0000000001: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f]
RIP: 0010:d_flags_for_inode fs/dcache.c:1980 [inline]
RIP: 0010:__d_add+0x5ce/0x800 fs/dcache.c:2796
Call Trace:

d_splice_alias+0x122/0x3b0 fs/dcache.c:3191
lookup_open fs/namei.c:3391 [inline]
open_last_lookups fs/namei.c:3481 [inline]
path_openat+0x10e6/0x2df0 fs/namei.c:3688
do_filp_open+0x264/0x4f0 fs/namei.c:3718
do_sys_openat2+0x124/0x4e0 fs/open.c:1310
do_sys_open fs/open.c:1326 [inline]
__do_sys_open fs/open.c:1334 [inline]
__se_sys_open fs/open.c:1330 [inline]
__x64_sys_open+0x221/0x270 fs/open.c:1330
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x3d/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

If the MFT record of ntfs inode is not a base record, inode->i_op can be
NULL. And a null-ptr-deref may happen:

ntfs_lookup()
dir_search_u() # inode->i_op is set to NULL
d_splice_alias()
__d_add()
d_flags_for_inode() # inode->i_op->get_link null-ptr-deref

Fix this by adding a Check on inode->i_op before calling the
d_splice_alias() function.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

Top CVE for Vendor

No vendor taxonomy on this entry.

Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities

No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.

How to fix CVE-2023-53294

CVE-2023-53294 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Fix null-ptr-deref on inode->i_op in ntfs_lookup() Syzbot reported a null-ptr-deref bug: ntfs3: loop0: Different NTFS’ sector size (1024) and media sector size (512) ntfs3: loop0: Mark volume as dirty due to NTFS errors general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000001: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Sep 16, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.