NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2023-53168

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: ucsi_acpi: Increase the command completion timeout Commit 130a96d698d7 ("usb: typec: ucsi: acpi: Increase command completion timeout value") increased the timeout from 5 seconds to 60 seconds due to issues related to alternate mode discovery. After the alternate mode discovery switch to polled mode the timeout was reduced, but instead of being set back to 5 seconds it was reduced to 1 second. This is causing problems when using a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 yoga gen7 connected over Type-C to a LG 27UL850-W (charging DP over Type-C). When the monitor is already connected at boot the following error is logged: "PPM init failed (-110)", /sys/class/typec is empty and on unplugging the NULL pointer deref fixed earlier in this series happens. When the monitor is connected after boot the following error is logged instead: "GET_CONNECTOR_STATUS failed (-110)". Setting the timeout back to 5 seconds fixes both cases.

EPSS: 0.001 (4.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

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.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-53168?
CVE-2023-53168 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-09-15.
How severe is CVE-2023-53168?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.