NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2023-53005

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: trace_events_hist: add check for return value of 'create_hist_field' Function 'create_hist_field' is called recursively at trace_events_hist.c:1954 and can return NULL-value that's why we have to check it to avoid null pointer dereference. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (16.6th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 17th percentile — 16.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2023-53005: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 30350d65ac5676c6d08d4fc935bc9a9cb0fd4ed3, 4.17, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.2

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53005?
CVE-2023-53005 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-03-27.
How severe is CVE-2023-53005?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.