CVE-2023-53167
tracing: Fix null pointer dereference in tracing_err_log_open()
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- Linux
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' 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
Timeline
ID reserved
By Linux
Published
- 14 months later
· 14 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | Medium5.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.16% · top 95% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.5.
Weakness
Affected products
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 93114cbc7cb169f6f26eeaed5286b91bb86b463b
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 7060e5aac6dc195124c106f49106d653a416323a
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 3b5d9b7b875968a8a8c99dac45cb85b705c44802
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 938d5b7a75e18264887387ddf9169db6d8aeef98
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 1e1c9aa9288a46c342f0f2c5c0b1c0876b9b0276
- affected 8a062902be725f647dc8da532b04d836546a369a – < 02b0095e2fbbc060560c1065f86a211d91e27b26
- affected 5.2
- unaffected < 5.2
- unaffected 5.4.251 – ≤ 5.4.*
- unaffected 5.10.188 – ≤ 5.10.*
- unaffected 5.15.121 – ≤ 5.15.*
- unaffected 6.1.40 – ≤ 6.1.*
- unaffected 6.4.5 – ≤ 6.4.*
- unaffected 6.5 – ≤ *
References (6)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93114cbc7cb169f6f26eeaed5286b91bb86b463b (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7060e5aac6dc195124c106f49106d653a416323a (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b5d9b7b875968a8a8c99dac45cb85b705c44802 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/938d5b7a75e18264887387ddf9169db6d8aeef98 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e1c9aa9288a46c342f0f2c5c0b1c0876b9b0276 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/02b0095e2fbbc060560c1065f86a211d91e27b26 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2023-53167)Record last updated .