CVE-2023-52647 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel specifically within the media subsystem driver for the NXP i.MX8 series, which handles the Image Signal Interface (ISI) crossbar functionality. The issue arises when the driver attempts to translate source to sink streams in the crossbar sub-device. In this process, the driver tries to locate the remote sub-device connected to the sink pad. However, if userspace attempts to enable a stream that terminates at an unconnected crossbar sink, the remote pad pointer can be NULL. The driver fails to check for this NULL pointer before dereferencing it, which leads to a kernel crash (denial of service). The vulnerability is essentially a NULL pointer dereference caused by insufficient validation of the pad pointer before use. The fix involves adding a check to ensure the pad is non-NULL before accessing it, and returning an error if the pad is NULL, thereby preventing the crash. This vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions containing the specified commit hash cf21f328fcafacf4f96e7a30ef9dceede1076378 and likely other versions incorporating the same code. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no CVSS score has been assigned yet. The vulnerability is categorized as a denial-of-service condition due to kernel crash, which can disrupt system availability but does not directly lead to privilege escalation or data leakage.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-52647 primarily concerns system availability and stability. Systems running Linux kernels with the affected media driver—especially those using NXP i.MX8 processors in embedded devices such as industrial control systems, automotive infotainment, or IoT devices—may experience crashes if malicious or malformed userspace requests trigger the NULL pointer dereference. This can lead to denial of service, potentially disrupting critical operations in sectors like manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications, and public infrastructure. While the vulnerability does not appear to allow code execution or privilege escalation, repeated crashes could cause operational downtime, impacting business continuity and service availability. Organizations relying on embedded Linux devices with this hardware and driver combination should be aware of the risk of unexpected system reboots or failures. Since no known exploits exist yet, the threat is currently low but could increase if attackers develop exploit techniques to trigger the crash remotely or via crafted inputs.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Identify and inventory all Linux systems using the NXP i.MX8 ISI crossbar driver, particularly embedded and industrial devices. 2) Apply the official Linux kernel patches that add the NULL pointer check to the crossbar pad access as soon as they become available from trusted sources or vendor updates. 3) If immediate patching is not possible, implement monitoring to detect abnormal kernel crashes or reboots related to media subsystem activity. 4) Restrict untrusted userspace applications from accessing or enabling media streams that interact with the crossbar sink pads, using access controls or sandboxing techniques. 5) Engage with hardware and software vendors to confirm the deployment of patched kernel versions in embedded devices. 6) Incorporate this vulnerability into incident response and system hardening procedures, ensuring rapid remediation if exploitation attempts are detected. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific hardware and driver context and emphasizing proactive inventory and vendor coordination.