Skip to main content

Boteraser | Website and Server Security Solutions

🛡️ CVE-2023-54220 — kernel

🟠 CVSS 7.8 — High ✅ No Known Exploit NVD
7.8
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

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().

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high.

CVSS metrics in full

The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

  • Attack vector: Local — a local account, shell or session on the host is needed.
  • Attack complexity: Low — the attack works reliably, with no preparation.
  • Privileges required: Low — an ordinary user account is enough.
  • User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
  • Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Integrity impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
  • Availability impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.

Affected software

CVE-2023-54220 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • kernel (from 6.2.0 up to 6.4.12)
  • unknown

Timeline and source

Published on 30 December 2025 and last revised on 12 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from NVD.

References

git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)

Other advisories for this package

kernel has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:

CVE-2023-54220 on other distributions

Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:

Details

Severity High
CVSS Score 7.8
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE N/A
Public Exploit ✅ No
Source NVD
Published 2025-12-30
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-08-12
Fix URL N/A

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
kernel 6.2.0 6.4.12
unknown — —

References

Similar Threats

Site Security Check

Is kernel part of your stack?

CVE-2023-54220 is rated CVSS 7.8 High. BotEraser scans your installation against known CVE records and tells you whether this vulnerability applies to the versions you actually run.

Scan My Site Free →

No credit card required  ·  Results in minutes

ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.

Browse related advisories

All advisoriesCVECVE 2023
✓