# 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.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53842, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53842, GHSA-65w4-2cj7-2f5c, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53842

## 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.

## Is CVE-2023-53842 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53842 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53842/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53842/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53842
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53842
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53842

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53842/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.