# CVE-2023-54194: exfat: use kvmalloc_array/kvfree instead of kmalloc_array/kfree

> A local attacker can cause a denial of service by inserting a malicious exFAT USB drive, triggering a kernel memory allocation failure.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54194, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54194, GHSA-f8mj-mr8j-j44m, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54194

## What is CVE-2023-54194?

CVE-2023-54194 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, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

exfat: use kvmalloc_array/kvfree instead of kmalloc_array/kfree

The call stack shown below is a scenario in the Linux 4.19 kernel.
Allocating memory failed where exfat fs use kmalloc_array due to
system memory fragmentation, while the u-disk was inserted without
recognition.
Devices such as u-disk using the exfat file system are pluggable and
may be insert into the system at any time.
However, long-term running systems cannot guarantee the continuity of
physical memory. Therefore, it's necessary to address this issue.

Binder:2632_6: page allocation failure: order:4,
 mode:0x6040c0(GFP_KERNEL|__GFP_COMP), nodemask=(null)
Call trace:
[242178.097582]  dump_backtrace+0x0/0x4
[242178.097589]  dump_stack+0xf4/0x134
[242178.097598]  warn_alloc+0xd8/0x144
[242178.097603]  __alloc_pages_nodemask+0x1364/0x1384
[242178.097608]  kmalloc_order+0x2c/0x510
[242178.097612]  kmalloc_order_trace+0x40/0x16c
[242178.097618]  __kmalloc+0x360/0x408
[242178.097624]  load_alloc_bitmap+0x160/0x284
[242178.097628]  exfat_fill_super+0xa3c/0xe7c
[242178.097635]  mount_bdev+0x2e8/0x3a0
[242178.097638]  exfat_fs_mount+0x40/0x50
[242178.097643]  mount_fs+0x138/0x2e8
[242178.097649]  vfs_kern_mount+0x90/0x270
[242178.097655]  do_mount+0x798/0x173c
[242178.097659]  ksys_mount+0x114/0x1ac
[242178.097665]  __arm64_sys_mount+0x24/0x34
[242178.097671]  el0_svc_common+0xb8/0x1b8
[242178.097676]  el0_svc_handler+0x74/0x90
[242178.097681]  el0_svc+0x8/0x340

By analyzing the exfat code,we found that continuous physical memory
is not required here,so kvmalloc_array is used can solve this problem.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54194?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54194?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54194 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54194 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54194 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54194 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, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54194 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-2023-54194/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54194/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54194
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54194
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54194

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54194/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.