---
id: CVE-2023-54220
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm()

  Unloading a hardware specific 8250 driver can produce error "Unable to
  handle kernel paging request at virtual …
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm()

  Unloading a hardware specific 8250 driver can produce error "Unable to
  handle kernel paging request at virtual …
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-772
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 9
published: '2025-12-30'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T22:17:55.603'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54220'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c05493341d6f2097f75f0a5dbb7b53a9e8c5f6c'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/18e27df4f2b4e257c317ba8076f31a888f6cc64b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/375806616f8c772c33d40e112530887b37c1a816'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/66f3e55960698c874b0598277913b478ecd29573'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/720a297b334e85d34099e83d1f375b92c3efedd6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b653289ca6460a6552c8590b75dfa84a0140a46b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd70d0b28010d560a8be96b44fea86fe2ba016ae'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dfe2aeb226fd5e19b0ee795f4f6ed8bc494c1534'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2023/cve-2023-54220.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-54220'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2426078'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54220'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54220'
  - url: >-
      https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025123027-CVE-2023-54220-2951@gregkh/T
tags:
  - nvd
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00155
epssPercentile: 0.04547
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-10-15T21:39:29.518449Z'
scores:
  nvd: 7.8
  vendor: 3.3
  cna: 7.8
ingestedAt: '2026-10-15T22:48:25.434Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

serial: 8250: Fix oops for port->pm on uart_change_pm()

Unloading a hardware specific 8250 driver can produce error "Unable to
handle kernel paging request at virtual address" about ten seconds after
unloading the driver. This happens on uart_hangup() calling
uart_change_pm().

Turns out commit 04e82793f068 ("serial: 8250: Reinit port->pm on port
specific driver unbind") was only a partial fix. If the hardware specific
driver has initialized port->pm function, we need to clear port->pm too.
Just reinitializing port->ops does not do this. Otherwise serial8250_pm()
will call port->pm() instead of serial8250_do_pm().

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · updated 2026-10-16 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2023/cve-2023-54220.json)