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TI-2023-29929 Aliases CVE-2023-53641GHSA-hh9m-7vg3-wpg4

wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: fix memory leak of remain_skbs

Priority LOW 24CWE-401Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 4 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: fix memory leak of remain_skbs hif_dev->remain_skb is allocated and used exclusively in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). It is implied that an allocated remain_skb is processed and subsequently freed (in error paths) only during the next call of ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). So, if the urbs are deallocated between those two calls due to the device deinitialization or suspend, it is possible that ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() is not called next time and the allocated remain_skb is leaked. Our local Syzkaller instance was able to trigger that. remain_skb makes sense when receiving two consecutive urbs which are logically linked together, i.e. a specific data field from the first skb indicates a cached skb to be allocated, memcpy'd with some data and subsequently processed in the next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). Urbs deallocation supposedly makes that link irrelevant so we need to free the cached skb in those cases. Fix the leak by introducing a function to explicitly free remain_skb (if it is not NULL) when the rx urbs have been deallocated. remain_skb is NULL when it has not been allocated at all (hif_dev struct is kzalloced) or when it has been processed in next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.0016 5th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 4.19.283, 5.4.243, 5.10.180 +5Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 2 fixed, 4 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux2.6.35 and later4.19.283, 5.4.243, 5.10.180, 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.35 and later Fixed in 4.19.283, 5.4.243, 5.10.180, 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.35 to before 4.19.283; 4.20 to before 5.4.243; 5.5 to before 5.10.180; 5.11 to before 5.15.111; 5.16 to before 6.1.28; 6.2 to before 6.2.15; 6.3 to before 6.3.2VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.35 to before 4.19.283; 4.20 to before 5.4.243; 5.5 to before 5.10.180; 5.11 to before 5.15.111; 5.16 to before 6.1.28; 6.2 to before 6.2.15; 6.3 to before 6.3.2 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.19.283, 5.4.243, 5.10.180, 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4

Red Hat 2 advisories

  • RHSA-2023:7077 Released 2023-11-14 · Red Hat rating Important
    kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
    • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-513.5.1.el8_9 +19
  • RHSA-2023:6583 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Important
    kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
    • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, libperf-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.2.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +29
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +9
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2023:7077
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8)Fixed RHSA-2023:7077
Not affected: 1 product
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53641
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-hh9m-7vg3-wpg4
  3. 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources