CVE-2023-53234

linux: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: watchdog: Fix kmemleak in watchdog_cdev_register...

CVE-2023-53234 is fixed in 20 products on 1 platform, first by ALAS2023-2023-138, released March 20, 2023. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

Routine
CVSS
5.5
medium
Exploitation
None reported
No vendor assessment
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0016
5th percentile

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: watchdog: Fix kmemleak in watchdog_cdev_register kmemleak reports memory leaks in watchdog_dev_register, as follows: unreferenced object 0xffff888116233000 (size 2048): comm ""modprobe"", pid 28147, jiffies 4353426116 (age 61.741s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 80 fa b9 05 81 88 ff ff 08 30 23 16 81 88 ff ff .........0#..... 08 30 23 16 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .0#............. backtrace: [<000000007f001ffd>] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x157/0x220 [<000000006a389304>] kmalloc_trace+0x21/0x110 [<000000008d640eea>] watchdog_dev_register+0x4e/0x780 [watchdog] [<0000000053c9f248>] __watchdog_register_device+0x4f0/0x680 [watchdog] [<00000000b2979824>] watchdog_register_device+0xd2/0x110 [watchdog] [<000000001f730178>] 0xffffffffc10880ae [<000000007a1a8bcc>] do_one_initcall+0xcb/0x4d0 [<00000000b98be325>] do_init_module+0x1ca/0x5f0 [<0000000046d08e7c>] load_module+0x6133/0x70f0 ... unreferenced object 0xffff888105b9fa80 (size 16): comm ""modprobe"", pid 28147, jiffies 4353426116 (age 61.741s) hex dump (first 16 bytes): 77 61 74 63 68 64 6f 67 31 00 b9 05 81 88 ff ff watchdog1....... backtrace: [<000000007f001ffd>] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x157/0x220 [<00000000486ab89b>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x44/0x1b0 [<000000005a39aab0>] kvasprintf+0xb5/0x140 [<0000000024806f85>] kvasprintf_const+0x55/0x180 [<000000009276cb7f>] kobject_set_name_vargs+0x56/0x150 [<00000000a92e820b>] dev_set_name+0xab/0xe0 [<00000000cec812c6>] watchdog_dev_register+0x285/0x780 [watchdog] [<0000000053c9f248>] __watchdog_register_device+0x4f0/0x680 [watchdog] [<00000000b2979824>] watchdog_register_device+0xd2/0x110 [watchdog] [<000000001f730178>] 0xffffffffc10880ae [<000000007a1a8bcc>] do_one_initcall+0xcb/0x4d0 [<00000000b98be325>] do_init_module+0x1ca/0x5f0 [<0000000046d08e7c>] load_module+0x6133/0x70f0 ... The reason is that put_device is not be called if cdev_device_add fails and wdd->id != 0. watchdog_cdev_register wd_data = kzalloc [1] err = dev_set_name [2] .. err = cdev_device_add if (err) { if (wdd->id == 0) { // wdd->id != 0 .. } return err; // [1],[2] would be leaked To fix it, call put_device in all wdd->id cases.

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Linux
bpftool · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
bpftool-debuginfo · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-debuginfo · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-devel · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-headers · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-libbpf · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-libbpf-devel · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-libbpf-static · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-livepatch-6.1.19-30.43 · amzn 2023 1.0-0.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-tools · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-tools-debuginfo · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
kernel-tools-devel · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
linux · Debian 12.15 (bookworm) 6.1.20-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53234 Sep 15, 2025
linux · Debian 13.5 (trixie) 6.1.20-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53234 Sep 15, 2025
linux · Debian 14 6.1.20-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53234 Sep 15, 2025
perf · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
perf-debuginfo · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
python3-perf · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023
python3-perf-debuginfo · amzn 2023 6.1.19-30.43.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2023-138 Mar 20, 2023

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