CVE-2023-52855: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: dwc2: fix possible NULL pointer dereference caused by driver concurrency In...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: dwc2: fix possible NULL pointer dereference caused by driver concurrency In _dwc2_hcd_urb_enqueue(), "urb->hcpriv = NULL" is executed without holding the lock "hsotg->lock". In _dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(): spin_lock_irqsave(&hsotg->lock, flags); ... if (!urb->hcpriv) { dev_dbg(hsotg->dev, "## urb->hcpriv is NULL ##\n"); goto out; } rc = dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(hsotg, urb->hcpriv); // Use urb->hcpriv ... out: spin_unlock_irqrestore(&hsotg->lock, flags); When _dwc2_hcd_urb_enqueue() and _dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue() are concurrently executed, the NULL check of "urb->hcpriv" can be executed before "urb->hcpriv = NULL". After urb->hcpriv is NULL, it can be used in the function call to dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(), which can cause a NULL pointer dereference. This possible bug is found by an experimental static analysis tool developed by myself. This tool analyzes the locking APIs to extract function pairs that can be concurrently executed, and then analyzes the instructions in the paired functions to identify possible concurrency bugs including data races and atomicity violations. The above possible bug is reported, when my tool analyzes the source code of Linux 6.5. To fix this possible bug, "urb->hcpriv = NULL" should be executed with holding the lock "hsotg->lock". After using this patch, my tool never reports the possible bug, with the kernelconfiguration allyesconfig for x86_64. Because I have no associated hardware, I cannot test the patch in runtime testing, and just verify it according to the code logic.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.24%

15.6th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-476

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.2, < 4.14.330
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.15, < 4.19.299
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.261
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.201
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.139
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.63
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.5.12
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.6, < 6.6.2

References

Timeline

Published: May 21, 2024
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52855?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: dwc2: fix possible NULL pointer dereference caused by driver concurrency In _dwc2_hcd_urb_enqueue(), "urb->hcpriv = NULL" is executed without holding the lock "hsotg->lock". In _dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(): spin_lock_irqsave(&hsotg->lock, flags); ... if (!urb->hcpriv) { dev_dbg(hsotg->dev, "## urb->hcpriv is NULL ##\n"); goto out; } rc = dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(hsotg, urb->hcpriv); // Use urb->hcpriv ... out: spin_unlock_irqrestore(&hsotg->lock, flags); When _dwc2_hcd_urb_enqueue() and _dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue() are concurrently executed, the NULL check of "urb->hcpriv" can be executed before "urb->hcpriv = NULL". After urb->hcpriv is NULL, it can be used in the function call to dwc2_hcd_urb_dequeue(), which can cause a NULL pointer dereference. This possible bug is found by an experimental static analysis tool developed by myself. This tool analyzes the locking APIs to extract function pairs that can be concurrently executed, and then analyzes the instructions in the paired functions to identify possible concurrency bugs including data races and atomicity violations. The above possible bug is reported, when my tool analyzes the source code of Linux 6.5. To fix this possible bug, "urb->hcpriv = NULL" should be executed with holding the lock "hsotg->lock". After using this patch, my tool never reports the possible bug, with the kernelconfiguration allyesconfig for x86_64. Because I have no associated hardware, I cannot test the patch in runtime testing, and just verify it according to the code logic.

How severe is CVE-2023-52855?

CVE-2023-52855 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.24% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2023-52855?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.