LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2023-53648: ALSA: ac97: Fix possible NULL dereference in snd_ac97_mixer

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: ac97: Fix possible NULL dereference in snd_ac97_mixer smatch error: sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c:2354 snd_ac97_mixer() error: we previously assumed 'rac97' could be null (see line 2072) remove redundant assignment, return error if rac97 is NULL.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-53648 is a Linux kernel bug in the ALSA AC97 audio mixer path. The issue is a possible NULL pointer dereference, which typically means a kernel crash risk rather than clear data theft. The provided sources do not include CVSS scoring or active exploitation evidence.

Executive priority

Treat this as routine kernel hygiene unless local evidence shows affected audio driver paths on critical systems. There is no source-backed active exploitation signal, but kernel crashes can still affect availability on exposed or unmanaged Linux endpoints.

Technical view

The kernel fix changes snd_ac97_mixer in sound/pci/ac97/ac97_codec.c to return an error when rac97 is NULL. The CVE record lists multiple Linux kernel stable fixes and affected kernel version points, but does not provide attack prerequisites, privilege requirements, or impact beyond the NULL dereference.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected kernel versions with the ALSA AC97 code present. Distribution kernels may have backported fixes, so package advisories and changelogs matter more than upstream version numbers alone.

Exploitation context

The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of exploitation in the wild. It also does not describe a public exploit, remote attack path, or reliable security impact beyond possible NULL dereference handling.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is limited to the CVE record and upstream Linux stable commits. The record identifies a defensive NULL check in snd_ac97_mixer, but omits CVSS, CWE, triggering conditions, and exploitability details. Avoid assuming privilege escalation or remote reachability from this bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor-supported kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for CVE-2023-53648 backports.
  • Prioritize externally managed fleets where kernel patch status is unclear.
  • Track kernel packages until the CVE or commit fix appears in changelogs.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory running Linux kernel versions across affected systems.
  • Confirm whether ALSA AC97 support is built or loaded where relevant.
  • Compare installed kernel packages with vendor advisories for this CVE.
  • Review package changelogs for the referenced upstream stable commit IDs.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
11

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-53648 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
10Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxda3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118, da3cec35dd3c31d8706db4bf379372ce70d92118unaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.28, 0, 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.121, 6.1.39, 6.3.13, 6.4.4, 6.5affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.