CVE-2023-53234
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-09-15

Last updated on: 2025-12-03

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
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.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-09-15
Last Modified
2025-12-03
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2025-09-15
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2023-53234
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 8 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 4.9.225 (inc) to 4.10 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 4.14.182 (inc) to 4.14.308 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 4.19.93 (inc) to 4.19.276 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.4.8 (inc) to 5.4.235 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.5 (inc) to 5.10.173 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.100 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.18 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 6.2 (inc) to 6.2.5 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-401 The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's watchdog device registration process. Specifically, when the function watchdog_cdev_register fails at cdev_device_add and the watchdog device id is not zero, the put_device function is not called, causing allocated memory not to be freed. This results in unreferenced objects remaining in memory, which is reported by kmemleak as memory leaks.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is that it causes memory leaks in the Linux kernel when registering watchdog devices. Over time, these leaks can lead to increased memory usage and potentially degrade system performance or stability, especially on systems that frequently load or unload watchdog modules.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring kmemleak reports for memory leaks related to watchdog_cdev_register. Specifically, checking for unreferenced objects associated with modprobe and watchdog devices in the kernel memory leak reports can indicate the presence of this issue. Commands to detect this include enabling and using kmemleak in the Linux kernel and checking its output, for example: 1) Enable kmemleak: echo scan > /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak 2) Check kmemleak reports: cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak

Mitigation Strategies

The immediate mitigation step is to apply the patch that fixes the watchdog_cdev_register function to ensure put_device is called in all cases where cdev_device_add fails, preventing memory leaks. Until the patch is applied, monitoring kmemleak reports and avoiding loading vulnerable watchdog modules may reduce impact.

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