CVE-2023-52993
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2023-52993 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on March 27, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
x86/i8259: Mark legacy PIC interrupts with IRQ_LEVEL
Baoquan reported that after triggering a crash the subsequent crash-kernel
fails to boot about half of the time. It triggers a NULL pointer
dereference in the periodic tick code.
This happens because the legacy timer interrupt (IRQ0) is resent in
software which happens in soft interrupt (tasklet) context. In this context
get_irq_regs() returns NULL which leads to the NULL pointer dereference.
The reason for the resend is a spurious APIC interrupt on the IRQ0 vector
which is captured and leads to a resend when the legacy timer interrupt is
enabled. This is wrong because the legacy PIC interrupts are level
triggered and therefore should never be resent in software, but nothing
ever sets the IRQ_LEVEL flag on those interrupts, so the core code does not
know about their trigger type.
Ensure that IRQ_LEVEL is set when the legacy PCI interrupts are set up.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 2.6.18, < 4.14.305 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-52993?
CVE-2023-52993 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on March 27, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2023-52993?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-52993?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-52993?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-52993 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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