CVE-2026-23337 pinctrl: pinconf-generic: Fix memory leak in pinconf_generic_parse_dt_config()

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A memory leak in the Linux kernel pinctrl subsystem allows attackers to cause a denial of service by exhausting system memory.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Any signed-in user
Attackable
Local or same network only
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
Available

What is CVE-2026-23337?

CVE-2026-23337 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. 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:

pinctrl: pinconf-generic: Fix memory leak in pinconf_generic_parse_dt_config()

In pinconf_generic_parse_dt_config(), if parse_dt_cfg() fails, it returns directly. This bypasses the cleanup logic and results in a memory leak of the cfg buffer.

Fix this by jumping to the out label on failure, ensuring kfree(cfg) is called before returning.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23337?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23337?

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-2026-23337 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23337 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23337, GHSA-5599-vj49-3fh3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23337.

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