# CVE-2023-54221: clk: imx93: fix memory leak and missing unwind goto in imx93_clocks_probe

> A memory leak and missing unwind in the Linux kernel i.MX93 clock driver can lead to resource exhaustion and 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:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54221, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54221, GHSA-c6v6-34rg-jgwv, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54221

## What is CVE-2023-54221?

CVE-2023-54221 is a memory corruption 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:

clk: imx93: fix memory leak and missing unwind goto in imx93_clocks_probe

In function probe(), it returns directly without unregistered hws
when error occurs.

Fix this by adding 'goto unregister_hws;' on line 295 and
line 310.

Use devm_kzalloc() instead of kzalloc() to automatically
free the memory using devm_kfree() when error occurs.

Replace of_iomap() with devm_of_iomap() to automatically
handle the unused ioremap region and delete 'iounmap(anatop_base);'
in unregister_hws.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54221?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54221?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54221 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54221 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54221 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54221 is a memory corruption 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54221 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-2023-54221/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54221/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54221
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54221
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54221

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54221/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.