CVE-2023-53594 driver core: fix resource leak in device_add()
A resource leak in the Linux kernel device_add function can cause module loading failures, leading to 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-2023-53594?
CVE-2023-53594 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Oct 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:
driver core: fix resource leak in device_add()
When calling kobject_add() failed in device_add(), it will call cleanup_glue_dir() to free resource. But in kobject_add(), dev->kobj.parent has been set to NULL. This will cause resource leak.
The process is as follows: device_add() get_device_parent() class_dir_create_and_add() kobject_add() //kobject_get() ... dev->kobj.parent = kobj; ... kobject_add() //failed, but set dev->kobj.parent = NULL ... glue_dir = get_glue_dir(dev) //glue_dir = NULL, and goto //"Error" label ... cleanup_glue_dir() //becaues glue_dir is NULL, not call //kobject_put()
The preceding problem may cause insmod mac80211_hwsim.ko to failed. sysfs: cannot create duplicate filename '/devices/virtual/mac80211_hwsim' Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x8e/0xd1 sysfs_warn_dup.cold+0x1c/0x29 sysfs_create_dir_ns+0x224/0x280 kobject_add_internal+0x2aa/0x880 kobject_add+0x135/0x1a0 get_device_parent+0x3d7/0x590 device_add+0x2aa/0x1cb0 device_create_groups_vargs+0x1eb/0x260 device_create+0xdc/0x110 mac80211_hwsim_new_radio+0x31e/0x4790 [mac80211_hwsim] init_mac80211_hwsim+0x48d/0x1000 [mac80211_hwsim] do_one_initcall+0x10f/0x630 do_init_module+0x19f/0x5e0 load_module+0x64b7/0x6eb0 __do_sys_finit_module+0x140/0x200 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 </TASK> kobject_add_internal failed for mac80211_hwsim with -EEXIST, don't try to register things with the same name in the same directory.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53594?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2023-53594?
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-2023-53594 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53594 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53594, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53594, GHSA-h86p-mcmj-rh92, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53594, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53594.