CVE-2023-53991

Published Dec 24, 2025 Modified Apr 15, 2026

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/msm/dpu: Disallow unallocated resources to be returned In the event that the topology requests resources that have not been created by the system (because they are typically not represented in dpu_mdss_cfg ^1), the resource(s) in global_state (in this case DSC blocks, until their allocation/assignment is being sanity-checked in "drm/msm/dpu: Reject topologies for which no DSC blocks are available") remain NULL but will still be returned out of dpu_rm_get_assigned_resources, where the caller expects to get an array containing num_blks valid pointers (but instead gets these NULLs). To prevent this from happening, where null-pointer dereferences typically result in a hard-to-debug platform lockup, num_blks shouldn't increase past NULL blocks and will print an error and break instead. After all, max_blks represents the static size of the maximum number of blocks whereas the actual amount varies per platform. ^1: which can happen after a git rebase ended up moving additions to _dpu_cfg to a different struct which has the same patch context. Patchwork: https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/patch/517636/

Is your site exposed to CVE-2023-53991?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-53991? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/msm/dpu: Disallow unallocated resources to be returned In the event that the topology requests resources that have not been created by the system (because they are typically not represented in dpu_mdss_cfg ^1), the resource(s) in global_state (in this case DSC blocks, until their allocation/assignment is being sanity-checked in "drm/msm/dpu: Reject topologies for which no DSC blocks are available") remain NULL but will still be returned out of dpu_rm_get_assigned_resources, where the caller expects to get an array containing num_blks valid pointers (but instead gets these NULLs). To prevent this from happening, where null-pointer dereferences typically result in a hard-to-debug platform lockup, num_blks shouldn't increase past NULL blocks and will print an error and break instead. After all, max_blks represents the static size of the maximum number of blocks whereas the actual amount varies per platform. ^1: which can happen after a git rebase ended up moving additions to _dpu_cfg to a different struct which has the same patch context. Patchwork: https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/patch/517636/
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-53991? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Don't wait for an exploit

Scan your website for vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-53991 — free, no signup required.