CVE-2023-53250: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-m84q-m2jg-26h3
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-53250 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2023-53250 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-53250
GHSA Identifier GHSA-m84q-m2jg-26h3
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-53250

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2023-53250, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: firmware: dmi-sysfs: Fix null-ptr-deref in dmi_sysfs_register_handle KASAN reported a null-ptr-deref error: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f] CPU: 0 PID: 1373 Comm: modprobe Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996) RIP: 0010:dmi_sysfs_entry_release ... Call Trace: <TASK> kobject_put dmi_sysfs_register_handle (drivers/firmware/dmi-sysfs.c:540) dmi_sysfs dmi_decode_table (drivers/firmware/dmi_scan.c:133) dmi_walk (drivers/firmware/dmi_scan.c:1115) dmi_sysfs_init (drivers/firmware/dmi-sysfs.c:149) dmi_sysfs do_one_initcall (init/main.c:1296) ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception Kernel Offset: 0x4000000 from 0xffffffff81000000 ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception ]--- It is because previous patch added kobject_put() to release the memory which will call dmi_sysfs_entry_release() and list_del(). However, list_add_tail(entry->list) is called after the error block, so the list_head is uninitialized and cannot be deleted. Move error handling to after list_add_tail to fix this.

References

NVD — CVE-2023-53250 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53250
git.kernel.org/stable/c/18e126e97c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/18e126e97c961f7a93823795c879d7c085fe5098
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d0492d1d9... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d0492d1d934642bdfd2057acc1b56f4b57be465
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4fe158259... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4fe158259fb5fead52ff2b55841ec5c39492604
git.kernel.org/stable/c/e851996b32... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e851996b32264e78a10863c2ac41a8689d7b9252

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53250?
CVE-2023-53250 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2023-53250?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-53250?
CVE-2023-53250 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-53250?
CVE-2023-53250 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2023-53250?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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  "id" : "GHSA-m84q-m2jg-26h3",
  "modified" : "2025-12-03T18:30:20Z",
  "published" : "2025-09-15T15:31:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-53250" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nfirmware: dmi-sysfs: Fix null-ptr-deref in dmi_sysfs_register_handle\n\nKASAN reported a null-ptr-deref error:\n\nKASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f]\nCPU: 0 PID: 1373 Comm: modprobe\nHardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996)\nRIP: 0010:dmi_sysfs_entry_release\n...\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n kobject_put\n dmi_sysfs_register_handle (drivers/firmware/dmi-sysfs.c:540) dmi_sysfs\n dmi_decode_table (drivers/firmware/dmi_scan.c:133)\n dmi_walk (drivers/firmware/dmi_scan.c:1115)\n dmi_sysfs_init (drivers/firmware/dmi-sysfs.c:149) dmi_sysfs\n do_one_initcall (init/main.c:1296)\n ...\nKernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception\nKernel Offset: 0x4000000 from 0xffffffff81000000\n---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception ]---\n\nIt is because previous patch added kobject_put() to release the memory\nwhich will call  dmi_sysfs_entry_release() and list_del().\n\nHowever, list_add_tail(entry->list) is called after the error block,\nso the list_head is uninitialized and cannot be deleted.\n\nMove error handling to after list_add_tail to fix this.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53250"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/18e126e97c961f7a93823795c879d7c085fe5098"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d0492d1d934642bdfd2057acc1b56f4b57be465"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4fe158259fb5fead52ff2b55841ec5c39492604"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e851996b32264e78a10863c2ac41a8689d7b9252"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-09-15T15:15:52Z"
  }
}