CVE Intelligence
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CVE-2023-54134 — autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode Syzkaller reports a memory leak: BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88810b279e00 (size 96): comm "syz-executor399", pid 3631, jiffies 4294964921 (age 23.870s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff ..........'..... 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..'............. backtrace: [<ffffffff814cfc90>] kmalloc_trace+0x20/0x90 mm/slab_common.c:1046 [<ffffffff81bb75ca>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:576 [inline] [<ffffffff81bb75ca>] autofs_wait+0x3fa/0x9a0 fs/autofs/waitq.c:378 [<ffffffff81bb88a7>] autofs_do_expire_multi+0xa7/0x3e0 fs/autofs/expire.c:593 [<ffffffff81bb8c33>] autofs_expire_multi+0x53/0x80 fs/autofs/expire.c:619 [<ffffffff81bb6972>] autofs_root_ioctl_unlocked+0x322/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:897 [<ffffffff81bb6a95>] autofs_root_ioctl+0x25/0x30 fs/autofs/root.c:910 [<ffffffff81602a9c>] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xfc/0x140 fs/ioctl.c:856 [<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [<ffffffff84800087>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd autofs_wait_queue structs should be freed if their wait_ctr becomes zero. Otherwise they will be lost. In this case an AUTOFS_IOC_EXPIRE_MULTI ioctl is done, then a new waitqueue struct is allocated in autofs_wait(), its initial wait_ctr equals 2. After that wait_event_killable() is interrupted (it returns -ERESTARTSYS), so that 'wq->name.name == NULL' condition may be not satisfied. Actually, this condition can be satisfied when autofs_wait_release() or autofs_catatonic_mode() is called and, what is also important, wait_ctr is decremented in those places. Upon the exit of autofs_wait(), wait_ctr is decremented to 1. Then the unmounting process begins: kill_sb calls autofs_catatonic_mode(), which should have freed the waitqueues, but it only decrements its usage counter to zero which is not a correct behaviour. edit:imk This description is of course not correct. The umount performed as a result of an expire is a umount of a mount that has been automounted, it's not the autofs mount itself. They happen independently, usually after everything mounted within the autofs file system has been expired away. If everything hasn't been expired away the automount daemon can still exit leaving mounts in place. But expires done in both cases will result in a notification that calls autofs_wait_release() with a result status. The problem case is the summary execution of of the automount daemon. In this case any waiting processes won't be woken up until either they are terminated or the mount is umounted. end edit: imk So in catatonic mode we should free waitqueues which counter becomes zero. edit: imk Initially I was concerned that the calling of autofs_wait_release() and autofs_catatonic_mode() was not mutually exclusive but that can't be the case (obviously) because the queue entry (or entries) is removed from the list when either of these two functions are called. Consequently the wait entry will be freed by only one of these functions or by the woken process in autofs_wait() depending on the order of the calls. end edit: imk

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.24%
ahead of 14% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux
CVSS base
—
Score not published yet.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 1985e8eae8627f02e3364690c5fed7af1c46be55≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 976abbdc120a97049b9133e60fa7b29627d11de4≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 6079dc77c6f32936e8a6766ee8334ae3c99f4504≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 69ddafc7a7afd8401bab53eff5af813fa0d368a2≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 71eeddcad7342292c19042c290c477697acaccab≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 726deae613bc1b6096ad3b61cc1e63e33330fbc2≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < 696b625f3f85d80fca48c24d2948fbc451e74366≥ 296f7bf78bc5c7a4d772aea580ce800d14040d1a and < ccbe77f7e45dfb4420f7f531b650c00c6e9c7507
and 1 more version 2.6.27
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.24%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Not enough vector or weakness data: use the affected application’s logs as a starting point.
application logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Source status changed · → Deferred
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Dec 24, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 13h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 13h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CVSS score published by NVD, the CNA, CISA or GitHub so far.
  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2023-54134 is "autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode", rated Unknown. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. EPSS 0.24% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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