CVE-2023-53012 thermal: core: call put_device() only after device_register() fails

What is CVE-2023-53012?

CVE-2023-53012 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Mar 2025. 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:

thermal: core: call put_device() only after device_register() fails

put_device() shouldn't be called before a prior call to device_register(). __thermal_cooling_device_register() doesn't follow that properly and needs fixing. Also thermal_cooling_device_destroy_sysfs() is getting called unnecessarily on few error paths.

Fix all this by placing the calls at the right place.

Based on initial work done by Caleb Connolly.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53012?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53012?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2023-53012 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53012 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as AZL-69482, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53012, GHSA-pqmw-jx87-8vxx, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53012.