Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a Linux kernel flaw that can crash the system when DMA channel registration fails and later unregistration follows a NULL pointer. The main business risk is availability, not data theft. It requires local, highly privileged access, so urgency is highest for kernel-maintained fleets, appliances, and systems with DMA controller drivers in scope.
Executive priority
Schedule remediation through the normal kernel patch cycle, escalating for critical infrastructure where a local privileged crash could affect service availability. This is not presented by the sources as remotely exploitable or actively exploited, but kernel availability defects still deserve timely fleet hygiene.
Technical view
CVE-2023-52492 is a CWE-476 NULL pointer dereference in Linux dmaengine channel unregistration. If __dma_async_device_channel_register() fails, chan->local is freed and set to NULL. Later dma_async_device_unregister() could unregister the channel unconditionally, causing a kernel NULL pointer dereference. Stable fixes add the missing NULL check before unregistering.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Linux kernels in the affected ranges identified by the CVE record and downstream distributions that have not backported the stable fixes. Practical exposure is most relevant on systems using affected DMA engine paths or DMA controller drivers. The CVE record marks confidentiality and integrity impact as none, with availability impact high.
Exploitation context
The supplied CVE data does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, high privileges, no user interaction, and availability-only impact. Treat this as a privileged local denial-of-service risk unless vendor or threat-intelligence sources later provide exploitation evidence.
Researcher notes
The key condition is a failed channel registration followed by unconditional channel unregistration. The fix mirrors the register error path by skipping unregister when chan->local is NULL. Evidence provided supports availability impact only; affected-version boundaries should be verified through distro backports and the referenced stable commits.
Mitigation direction
- Apply kernel updates from your Linux distribution or vendor.
- Confirm the relevant stable kernel fix is included or backported.
- Prioritize systems with DMA controller drivers or custom kernel modules.
- Reboot into the patched kernel after maintenance approval.
- Track downstream advisories, including Debian LTS where applicable.
Validation and detection
- Inventory running Linux kernel versions across managed systems.
- Compare kernel builds against the CVE record and stable fix references.
- Check distribution changelogs for CVE-2023-52492 backport confirmation.
- Review kernel crash logs for dmaengine NULL dereference symptoms.
- Confirm patched code guards channel unregistration when chan->local is NULL.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-52492 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H0.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9de69732dde4e443c1c7f89acbbed2c45a6a8e17CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/047fce470412ab64cb7345f9ff5d06919078ad79CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ab32986a0b9e329eb7f8f04dd57cc127f797c08CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f0ccfad2031eddcc510caf4e57f2d4aa2d8a50bCVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9263fd2a63487c6d04cbb7b74a48fb12e1e352d0CVE reference
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5c24d94512f1b288262beda4d3dcb9629222fc7CVE reference
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00017.htmlCVE reference · x_transferred
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.