How severe is CVE-2023-52993?

CVE-2023-52993 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-52993 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (16th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-52993?

CVE-2023-52993 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-52993?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2023-52993 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2023-52993 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-59727.

When was CVE-2023-52993 published?

CVE-2023-52993 was published on 2025-03-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-52993

CVE-2023-52993 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (16th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2023-59727
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2025-03-27
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-52993?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2023-52993?: CVE-2023-52993 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-52993 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (16th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-52993?: CVE-2023-52993 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-52993?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2023-52993 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2023-52993 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2023-59727.
When was CVE-2023-52993 published?: CVE-2023-52993 was published on 2025-03-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (6)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*

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