CVE-2023-53404 USB: fotg210: fix memory leak with using debugfs_lookup()

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A memory leak in the Linux kernel's fotg210 USB driver via debugfs_lookup can lead to resource exhaustion and 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-2023-53404?

CVE-2023-53404 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 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:

USB: fotg210: fix memory leak with using debugfs_lookup()

When calling debugfs_lookup() the result must have dput() called on it, otherwise the memory will leak over time. To make things simpler, just call debugfs_lookup_and_remove() instead which handles all of the logic at once.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53404?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53404?

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-2023-53404 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53404 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53404, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53404, GHSA-v645-356v-8x2f, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53404, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53404.

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