Linux Kernel up to 6.1.29/6.3.3 devm_add_action_or_reset use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.29/6.3.3 and classified as critical. Affected is the function devm_add_action_or_reset. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2023-53854. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.29/6.3.3. This affects the function devm_add_action_or_reset. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ASoC: mediatek: mt8186: Fix use-after-free in driver remove path When devm runs function in the "remove" path for a device it runs them in the reverse order. That means that if you have parts of your driver that aren't using devm or are using "roll your own" devm w/ devm_add_action_or_reset() you need to keep that in mind. The mt8186 audio driver didn't quite get this right. Specifically, in mt8186_init_clock() it called mt8186_audsys_clk_register() and then went on to call a bunch of other devm function. The caller of mt8186_init_clock() used devm_add_action_or_reset() to call mt8186_deinit_clock() but, because of the intervening devm functions, the order was wrong. Specifically at probe time, the order was: 1. mt8186_audsys_clk_register() 2. afe_priv->clk = devm_kcalloc(...) 3. afe_priv->clk[i] = devm_clk_get(...) At remove time, the order (which should have been 3, 2, 1) was: 1. mt8186_audsys_clk_unregister() 3. Free all of afe_priv->clk[i] 2. Free afe_priv->clk The above seemed to be causing a use-after-free. Luckily, it's easy to fix this by simply using devm more correctly. Let's move the devm_add_action_or_reset() to the right place. In addition to fixing the use-after-free, code inspection shows that this fixes a leak (missing call to mt8186_audsys_clk_unregister()) that would have happened if any of the syscon_regmap_lookup_by_phandle() calls in mt8186_init_clock() had failed.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-53854 since 12/09/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/30/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 278534 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53854), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.30 or 6.3.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3e56a1c04882852e3e7d6c59756a16211ebbc457/dffd9e2b57cb845930fa885aa634a847ba2130dd/a93d2afd3f77a7331271a0f25c6a11003db69b3c is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (278534) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2765). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.1.28
• 6.1.29
• 6.3.0
• 6.3.1
• 6.3.2
• 6.3.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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