NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2023-53038

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: lpfc: Check kzalloc() in lpfc_sli4_cgn_params_read() If kzalloc() fails in lpfc_sli4_cgn_params_read(), then we rely on lpfc_read_object()'s routine to NULL check pdata. Currently, an early return error is thrown from lpfc_read_object() to protect us from NULL ptr dereference, but the errno code is -ENODEV. Change the errno code to a more appropriate -ENOMEM.

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: 0.002 (9.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 9th percentile — 9.1% 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-2023-53038: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 72df8a452883b0be334396acba07df77c3c3f6c7, 5.15, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.3

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53038?
CVE-2023-53038 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-05-02.
How severe is CVE-2023-53038?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.