What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2023-53402: kernel/printk/index.c: fix memory leak with using debugfs_lookup()

• Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2025-09-18 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernel/printk/index.c: fix memory leak with using debugfs_lookup() When calling debugfs_lookup() the result must have dput() called on it, otherwise the memory will leak over time. To make things simpler, just call debugfs_lookup_and_remove() instead which handles all of the logic at once.

Affected products

• Linux kernel: before 5.15.100; from 5.16 before 6.1.18; from 6.2 before 6.2.5 — fixed in 5.15.100, 6.1.18, 6.2.5

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.15.100, 6.1.18, 6.2.5. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13969236b6900b5a3625ad2193569588e978f1cc
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e07fa2e30d48d24a791483774a3d4b76769e0cf
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55bf243c514553e907efcf2bda92ba090eca8c64
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c578a68ffcdc2e8c72556bebdaae2b7500398e81

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