CVE Intelligence
High

CVE-2023-54198 — tty: fix out-of-bounds access in tty_driver_lookup_tty()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tty: fix out-of-bounds access in tty_driver_lookup_tty() When specifying an invalid console= device like console=tty3270, tty_driver_lookup_tty() returns the tty struct without checking whether index is a valid number. To reproduce: qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -nographic -serial mon:stdio \ -kernel ../linux-build-x86/arch/x86/boot/bzImage \ -append "console=ttyS0 console=tty3270" This crashes with: [ 0.770599] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000ef [ 0.771265] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 0.771773] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 0.772609] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI [ 0.774878] RIP: 0010:tty_open+0x268/0x6f0 [ 0.784013] chrdev_open+0xbd/0x230 [ 0.784444] ? cdev_device_add+0x80/0x80 [ 0.784920] do_dentry_open+0x1e0/0x410 [ 0.785389] path_openat+0xca9/0x1050 [ 0.785813] do_filp_open+0xaa/0x150 [ 0.786240] file_open_name+0x133/0x1b0 [ 0.786746] filp_open+0x27/0x50 [ 0.787244] console_on_rootfs+0x14/0x4d [ 0.787800] kernel_init_freeable+0x1e4/0x20d [ 0.788383] ? rest_init+0xc0/0xc0 [ 0.788881] kernel_init+0x11/0x120 [ 0.789356] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30

Published Dec 30, 2025 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.16%
ahead of 4% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux
CVSS base
7.8
High · 2 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < 3df6f492f500a16c231f07ccc6f6ed1302caddf9≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < b79109d6470aaae7062998353e3a19449055829d≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < 953a4a352a0c185460ae1449e4c6e6658e55fdfc≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < 84ea44dc3e4ecb2632586238014bf6722aa5843b≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < f9d9d25ad1f0d060eaf297a2f7f03b5855a45561≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < 765566110eb0da3cf60198b0165ecceeaafa6444≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < fcfeaa570f7a5c2d5f4f14931909531ff18b7fde≥ 99f1fe189daf8e99a847e420567e49dd7ee2aae7 and < db4df8e9d79e7d37732c1a1b560958e8dadfefa1
and 1 more version 2.6.28
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.16%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Dec 30, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 9h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 9h
  • CVE-2026-98431 RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency 1d
  • CVE-2026-98430 RDMA/efa: Keep admin queues alive while IRQ is registered 1d
  • CVE-2026-98429 RDMA/efa: Keep EQ resources alive while IRQ is registered 1d
  • CVE-2026-98428 ALSA: usb: 6fire: Avoid embedded URBs 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2023-54198 is "tty: fix out-of-bounds access in tty_driver_lookup_tty()", rated High. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.16% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.