CVE-2023-53326 Details
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc: Don't try to copy PPR for task with NULL pt_regs powerpc sets up PF_KTHREAD and PF_IO_WORKER with a NULL pt_regs, which from my (arguably very short) checking is not commonly done for other archs. This is fine, except when PF_IO_WORKER's have been created and the task does something that causes a coredump to be generated. Then we get this crash: Kernel attempted to read user page (160) - exploit attempt? (uid: 1000) BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x00000160 Faulting instruction address: 0xc0000000000c3a60 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] LE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Radix SMP NR_CPUS=32 NUMA pSeries Modules linked in: bochs drm_vram_helper drm_kms_helper xts binfmt_misc ecb ctr syscopyarea sysfillrect cbc sysimgblt drm_ttm_helper aes_generic ttm sg libaes evdev joydev virtio_balloon vmx_crypto gf128mul drm dm_mod fuse loop configfs drm_panel_orientation_quirks ip_tables x_tables autofs4 hid_generic usbhid hid xhci_pci xhci_hcd usbcore usb_common sd_mod CPU: 1 PID: 1982 Comm: ppc-crash Not tainted 6.3.0-rc2+ #88 Hardware name: IBM pSeries (emulated by qemu) POWER9 (raw) 0x4e1202 0xf000005 of:SLOF,HEAD hv:linux,kvm pSeries NIP: c0000000000c3a60 LR: c000000000039944 CTR: c0000000000398e0 REGS: c0000000041833b0 TRAP: 0300 Not tainted (6.3.0-rc2+) MSR: 800000000280b033 <SF,VEC,VSX,EE,FP,ME,IR,DR,RI,LE> CR: 88082828 XER: 200400f8 ... NIP memcpy_power7+0x200/0x7d0 LR ppr_get+0x64/0xb0 Call Trace: ppr_get+0x40/0xb0 (unreliable) __regset_get+0x180/0x1f0 regset_get_alloc+0x64/0x90 elf_core_dump+0xb98/0x1b60 do_coredump+0x1c34/0x24a0 get_signal+0x71c/0x1410 do_notify_resume+0x140/0x6f0 interrupt_exit_user_prepare_main+0x29c/0x320 interrupt_exit_user_prepare+0x6c/0xa0 interrupt_return_srr_user+0x8/0x138 Because ppr_get() is trying to copy from a PF_IO_WORKER with a NULL pt_regs. Check for a valid pt_regs in both ppc_get/ppr_set, and return an error if not set. The actual error value doesn't seem to be important here, so just pick -EINVAL. [mpe: Trim oops in change log, add Fixes & Cc stable]
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's PowerPC architecture has been identified, where tasks marked as PF_KTHREAD and PF_IO_WORKER are assigned a NULL pt_regs. This situation is uncommon in other architectures. The vulnerability arises when such tasks generate a core dump, leading to a kernel crash due to a NULL pointer dereference. The issue occurs because the ppr_get function attempts to copy data from a task with a NULL pt_regs, causing a kernel access violation. The vulnerability has been addressed by modifying the ppr_get and ppr_set functions to check for a valid pt_regs and return an error if not set.
Users can upgrade to the latest stable version of the Linux kernel, where this vulnerability has been fixed. Instructions for downloading the patched version are available on the official Linux kernel website.
Metrics
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:
No CVSS 4.0 data is available for this CVE.
CVSS 3.x Severity and Vector Strings:
No data available for CVSS Version 2.0 on this CVE.
CISA-ADP
Assessed Jan 14, 2026References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
By selecting these links, you will be leaving this site. These are references gathered from the official CVE record and are not endorsed by Volerion.
| URL | Source(s) | Tag(s) |
|---|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01849382373b867ddcbe7536b9dfa89f3bcea60e | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/064a1c7b0f8403260d77627e62424a72ca26cee2 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7624973bc15b76d000e8e6f9b8080fcb76d36595 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80a4200d51e5a7e046f4a90f5faa5bafd5a60c58 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd7276189450110ed835eb0a334e62d2f1c4e3be | kernel.org | Patch |
Weakness Enumeration
| CWE-ID | CWE Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-476 | NULL Pointer Dereference | [email protected] |
| CWE-476 | NULL Pointer Dereference | CISA-ADP |
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| linux linux kernel | >= 4.8, < 5.10.177 >= 5.11, < 5.15.106 >= 5.16, < 6.1.23 >= 6.2, < 6.2.10 6.3 rc1 6.3 rc2 6.3 rc3 6.3 rc4 |
CPE
Remediation
| |
Change History
5 change records found show changes
| Date | Action | Recorded By |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | kernel.org |
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | CISA-ADP |
| Jan 14, 2026 | CVE Modified | CISA-ADP |
| Dec 10, 2025 | Initial Analysis | [email protected] |
| Sep 16, 2025 | New CVE Received | kernel.org |