CVE-2023-54017 powerpc/pseries: fix possible memory leak in ibmebus_bus_init()
A memory leak in the Linux kernel's powerpc/pseries driver can lead to resource exhaustion and 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-2023-54017?
CVE-2023-54017 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:
powerpc/pseries: fix possible memory leak in ibmebus_bus_init()
If device_register() returns error in ibmebus_bus_init(), name of kobject which is allocated in dev_set_name() called in device_add() is leaked.
As comment of device_add() says, it should call put_device() to drop the reference count that was set in device_initialize() when it fails, so the name can be freed in kobject_cleanup().
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54017?
How do I fix CVE-2023-54017?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2023-54017 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54017 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-54017, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54017, GHSA-2j5g-62c3-j9jj, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54017.