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CVE Record

CVE-2023-54220: serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm() Unloading a hardware specific 8250 driver can produce error "Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address" about ten seconds after unloading the driver. This happens on uart_hangup() calling uart_change_pm(). Turns out commit 04e82793f068 ("serial: 8250: Reinit port->pm on port specific driver unbind") was only a partial fix. If the hardware specific driver has initialized port->pm function, we need to clear port->pm too. Just reinitializing port->ops does not do this. Otherwise serial8250_pm() will call port->pm() instead of serial8250_do_pm().

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a Linux kernel crash bug in the 8250 serial driver path. If a hardware-specific 8250 driver is unloaded, stale power-management callback state can later be used and trigger a kernel oops. The available sources describe reliability impact, not data theft or remote compromise.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted availability and stability issue. Prioritize patching systems where serial hardware is business-critical, dynamically managed, or embedded in operational environments. Broad emergency response is not supported by the available evidence.

Technical view

The bug is in uart_change_pm() handling after 8250 driver unbind. A previous fix reinitialized port->ops but did not clear port->pm, allowing serial8250_pm() to call a stale port-specific pm callback instead of serial8250_do_pm(), causing a paging request oops after unload.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Linux systems using affected 8250 serial driver code where hardware-specific 8250 drivers can be unloaded or unbound. The source bundle lists Linux kernel versions and stable commits, but exact distribution package exposure must be confirmed through vendor advisories.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is supported by the provided sources, and the CVE is not marked KEV. The described trigger is driver unload followed by later hangup/power-management behavior, suggesting a local operational crash scenario rather than a documented remote attack path.

Researcher notes

The key evidence is the incomplete prior fix for commit 04e82793f068. Validation should focus on port->pm clearing during 8250 driver unbind and whether downstream kernels backported the stable commits. No CVSS, CWE, or exploit evidence is provided.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor kernel containing the relevant stable 8250 serial fixes.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions.
  • Avoid unloading or unbinding hardware-specific 8250 drivers until patched.
  • Prioritize systems where serial drivers are managed dynamically or by vendor modules.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions against the affected entries in the CVE record.
  • Identify hosts using 8250 serial hardware-specific drivers or vendor serial modules.
  • Review kernel logs for paging request oops after 8250 driver unload.
  • Confirm patched kernels include one of the referenced stable commits.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
10

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

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CVE-2023-54220 mapping review

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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
9Source 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
LinuxLinux490bf37eaabb0a857ed1ae8e75d8854e41662f1c, c9e080c3005fd183c56ff8f4d75edb5da0765d2c, d5cd2928d31042a7c0a01464f9a8d95be736421d, 2c86a1305c1406f45ea780d06953c484ea1d9e6e, 1ba5594739d858e524ff0f398ee1ebfe0a8b9d41, af4d6dbb1a92ea424ad1ba1d0c88c7fa2345d872, 04e82793f068d2f0ffe62fcea03d007a8cdc16a7, 04e82793f068d2f0ffe62fcea03d007a8cdc16a7, 8e596aed5f2f98cf3e6e98d6fe1d689f4a319308, 4.14.316, 4.19.284, 5.4.244, 5.10.181, 5.15.113, 6.1.30, 6.3.4unaffected
LinuxLinux6.4, 0, 4.14.324, 4.19.293, 5.4.255, 5.10.192, 5.15.128, 6.1.47, 6.4.12, 6.5affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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