CVE-2023-53514: gpu: host1x: Fix memory leak of device names

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: 2025-10-01 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpu: host1x: Fix memory leak of device names The device names allocated by dev_set_name() need be freed before module unloading, but they can not be freed because the kobject's refcount which was set in device_initialize() has not be decreased to 0. As comment of device_add() says, if it fails, use only put_device() drop the refcount, then the name will be freed in kobejct_cleanup(). device_del() and put_device() can be replaced with device_unregister(), so call it to unregister the added successfully devices, and just call put_device() to the not added device. Add a release() function to device to avoid null release() function WARNING in device_release(), it's empty, because the context devices are freed together in host1x_memory_context_list_free().

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.0 before 6.1.28; from 6.2 before 6.2.15; from 6.3 before 6.3.2 — fixed in 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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