CVE-2023-53195 mlxsw: minimal: fix potential memory leak in mlxsw_m_linecards_init

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A memory leak in the mlxsw minimal driver allows attackers to exhaust kernel memory, potentially causing a denial of service.

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

What is CVE-2023-53195?

CVE-2023-53195 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 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:

mlxsw: minimal: fix potential memory leak in mlxsw_m_linecards_init

The line cards array is not freed in the error path of mlxsw_m_linecards_init(), which can lead to a memory leak. Fix by freeing the array in the error path, thereby making the error path identical to mlxsw_m_linecards_fini().

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53195?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53195?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2023-53195 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53195 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53195, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53195, GHSA-hvpq-w3pm-9wfj, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53195.

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