CVE-2023-53113

Local kernel crash via unchecked channel pointer

Published May 2, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to crash the system through an inactive wireless link. The nl80211 off-channel check reads a link's channel without first verifying that its channel-definition pointer is present. The link must have been created by userspace but not activated, such as in access-point mode; reaching the check causes an availability-only kernel crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to crash the system through an inactive wireless link. The nl80211 off-channel check reads a link's channel without first verifying that its channel-definition pointer is present. The link must have been created by userspace but not activated, such as in access-point mode; reaching the check causes an availability-only kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53113
Published
May 2, 2025
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1529
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 2, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.19.2 <5.20
  2. Affected versionversion=6.0
  3. Affected versionversion=7a53ad13c09150076b7ddde96c2dfc5622c90b45
  4. Affected versionversion=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <201a836c2385fdd2b9d0a8e7737bba5b26f1863a
  5. Affected versionversion=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <87e80ea4fbc9ce2f2005905fdbcd38baaa47463a
  6. Affected versionversion=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <f624bb6fad23df3270580b4fcef415c6e7bf7705

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.19.2 <5.20; version=6.0; version=7a53ad13c09150076b7ddde96c2dfc5622c90b45; version=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <201a836c2385fdd2b9d0a8e7737bba5b26f1863a; version=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <87e80ea4fbc9ce2f2005905fdbcd38baaa47463a; version=7b0a0e3c3a88260b6fcb017e49f198463aa62ed1 <f624bb6fad23df3270580b4fcef415c6e7bf7705

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1529System Shutdown/Reboot

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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