CVE-2023-53012 | thermal: core: call put_device() only after device_register() fails

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal: core: call put_device() only after device_register() fails put_device() shouldn't be called before a prior call to device_register(). __thermal_cooling_device_register() doesn't follow that properly and needs fixing. Also thermal_cooling_device_destroy_sysfs() is getting called unnecessarily on few error paths. Fix all this by placing the calls at the right place. Based on initial work done by Caleb Connolly.

Published: 2025-03-27 Last update: 2025-10-30 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-53012 is rated Low Risk (24.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.17%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53012

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.08% 0.17% +0.09%
2 2026-05-05 0.02% 0.08% +0.06%
3 2025-03-28 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53012

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53012

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53012

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2023-53012 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53012
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53012
suse medium CVE-2023-53012 severity moderate: SUSE including 55 source package names (bpftool-7.2.0-362.8.1.el9_3, cluster-md-kmp-default, …), 221 product×package rows across 35 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Liberty Linux 9, … (35 product lines)): Known Not Affected 192, Fixed 29. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53012/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-53012 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, ignored 146, not-affected 145, released 114, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53012

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53012

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.15.86, < 5.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.0.16, < 6.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.1.2, < 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-53012

cvelogic Threat Intelligence