Bug 2425025 (CVE-2023-54044)

Summary: CVE-2023-54044 kernel: spmi: Add a check for remove callback when removing a SPMI driver
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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OS: Linux   
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A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's SPMI (System Power Management Interface) bus driver. When removing a SPMI driver that does not define a remove callback, spmi_drv_remove() dereferences a NULL function pointer, causing a kernel panic. This affects drivers using devm_() APIs that don't require explicit cleanup.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2025-12-24 13:02:49 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

spmi: Add a check for remove callback when removing a SPMI driver

When removing a SPMI driver, there can be a crash due to NULL pointer
dereference if it does not have a remove callback defined. This is
one such call trace observed when removing the QCOM SPMI PMIC driver:

 dump_backtrace.cfi_jt+0x0/0x8
 dump_stack_lvl+0xd8/0x16c
 panic+0x188/0x498
 __cfi_slowpath+0x0/0x214
 __cfi_slowpath+0x1dc/0x214
 spmi_drv_remove+0x16c/0x1e0
 device_release_driver_internal+0x468/0x79c
 driver_detach+0x11c/0x1a0
 bus_remove_driver+0xc4/0x124
 driver_unregister+0x58/0x84
 cleanup_module+0x1c/0xc24 [qcom_spmi_pmic]
 __do_sys_delete_module+0x3ec/0x53c
 __arm64_sys_delete_module+0x18/0x28
 el0_svc_common+0xdc/0x294
 el0_svc+0x38/0x9c
 el0_sync_handler+0x8c/0xf0
 el0_sync+0x1b4/0x1c0

If a driver has all its resources allocated through devm_() APIs and
does not need any other explicit cleanup, it would not require a
remove callback to be defined. Hence, add a check for remove callback
presence before calling it when removing a SPMI driver.
Comment 1 Alexander B 2025-12-25 07:58:48 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025122422-CVE-2023-54044-61d9@gregkh/T