# CVE-2023-52730: mmc: sdio: fix possible resource leaks in some error paths

> A resource leak in the Linux kernel SDIO subsystem can lead to memory exhaustion and denial of service during error handling.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52730, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52730, GHSA-64v3-vwp6-q2hj, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52730

## What is CVE-2023-52730?

CVE-2023-52730 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

mmc: sdio: fix possible resource leaks in some error paths

If sdio_add_func() or sdio_init_func() fails, sdio_remove_func() can
not release the resources, because the sdio function is not presented
in these two cases, it won't call of_node_put() or put_device().

To fix these leaks, make sdio_func_present() only control whether
device_del() needs to be called or not, then always call of_node_put()
and put_device().

In error case in sdio_init_func(), the reference of 'card->dev' is
not get, to avoid redundant put in sdio_free_func_cis(), move the
get_device() to sdio_alloc_func() and put_device() to sdio_release_func(),
it can keep the get/put function be balanced.

Without this patch, while doing fault inject test, it can get the
following leak reports, after this fix, the leak is gone.

unreferenced object 0xffff888112514000 (size 2048):
  comm "kworker/3:2", pid 65, jiffies 4294741614 (age 124.774s)
  hex dump (first 32 bytes):
    00 e0 6f 12 81 88 ff ff 60 58 8d 06 81 88 ff ff  ..o.....`X......
    10 40 51 12 81 88 ff ff 10 40 51 12 81 88 ff ff  .@Q......@Q.....
  backtrace:
    [<000000009e5931da>] kmalloc_trace+0x21/0x110
    [<000000002f839ccb>] mmc_alloc_card+0x38/0xb0 [mmc_core]
    [<0000000004adcbf6>] mmc_sdio_init_card+0xde/0x170 [mmc_core]
    [<000000007538fea0>] mmc_attach_sdio+0xcb/0x1b0 [mmc_core]
    [<00000000d4fdeba7>] mmc_rescan+0x54a/0x640 [mmc_core]

unreferenced object 0xffff888112511000 (size 2048):
  comm "kworker/3:2", pid 65, jiffies 4294741623 (age 124.766s)
  hex dump (first 32 bytes):
    00 40 51 12 81 88 ff ff e0 58 8d 06 81 88 ff ff  .@Q......X......
    10 10 51 12 81 88 ff ff 10 10 51 12 81 88 ff ff  ..Q.......Q.....
  backtrace:
    [<000000009e5931da>] kmalloc_trace+0x21/0x110
    [<00000000fcbe706c>] sdio_alloc_func+0x35/0x100 [mmc_core]
    [<00000000c68f4b50>] mmc_attach_sdio.cold.18+0xb1/0x395 [mmc_core]
    [<00000000d4fdeba7>] mmc_rescan+0x54a/0x640 [mmc_core]

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52730?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52730?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52730 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52730 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52730 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52730 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52730 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52730/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52730/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52730
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52730
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52730

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52730/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.