CVE-2023-54169 net/mlx5e: fix memory leak in mlx5e_ptp_open
A memory leak in the Linux kernel's mlx5e PTP driver allows attackers to cause a denial of service by triggering allocation failures.
- 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-2023-54169?
CVE-2023-54169 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 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:
net/mlx5e: fix memory leak in mlx5e_ptp_open
When kvzalloc_node or kvzalloc failed in mlx5e_ptp_open, the memory pointed by "c" or "cparams" is not freed, which can lead to a memory leak. Fix by freeing the array in the error path.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54169?
How do I fix CVE-2023-54169?
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-2023-54169 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54169 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-54169, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54169, GHSA-w746-97c4-584x, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54169.