CVE-2023-53842 ASoC: codecs: wcd-mbhc-v2: fix resource leaks on component remove
A resource leak in the Linux kernel WCD-MBHC codec driver causes audio card initialization failures, leading to denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-53842?
CVE-2023-53842 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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:
ASoC: codecs: wcd-mbhc-v2: fix resource leaks on component remove
The MBHC resources must be released on component probe failure and removal so can not be tied to the lifetime of the component device.
This is specifically needed to allow probe deferrals of the sound card which otherwise fails when reprobing the codec component:
snd-sc8280xp sound: ASoC: failed to instantiate card -517 genirq: Flags mismatch irq 299. 00002001 (mbhc sw intr) vs. 00002001 (mbhc sw intr) wcd938x_codec audio-codec: Failed to request mbhc interrupts -16 wcd938x_codec audio-codec: mbhc initialization failed wcd938x_codec audio-codec: ASoC: error at snd_soc_component_probe on audio-codec: -16 snd-sc8280xp sound: ASoC: failed to instantiate card -16
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53842?
How do I fix CVE-2023-53842?
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-2023-53842 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53842 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-53842, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53842, GHSA-65w4-2cj7-2f5c, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53842.