CVE-2023-53460

Local service interruption via probe error memory leak

Published Oct 1, 2025 · Updated Oct 1, 2025

Memory leakage in the Linux rtw88 USB Wi-Fi driver 5.2 through 6.3.3 allows local users to interrupt service through kernel-memory exhaustion. The rtw_usb_probe function returns immediately when rtw_usb_alloc_rx_bufs fails after ieee80211_alloc_hw succeeds, bypassing err_release_hw and leaving hw allocated. Reachability requires an rtw88-compatible USB device and an RX-buffer allocation failure; repeated failed probes consume kernel memory without reading or changing data.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leakage in the Linux rtw88 USB Wi-Fi driver 5.2 through 6.3.3 allows local users to interrupt service through kernel-memory exhaustion. The rtw_usb_probe function returns immediately when rtw_usb_alloc_rx_bufs fails after ieee80211_alloc_hw succeeds, bypassing err_release_hw and leaving hw allocated. Reachability requires an rtw88-compatible USB device and an RX-buffer allocation failure; repeated failed probes consume kernel memory without reading or changing data.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53460
Published
Oct 1, 2025
Updated
Oct 1, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 1, 2025Record 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <48181d285623198c33bb9698992502687b258efa
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6cc92379b80af005e1f49ef6ef790cddc58cf0da

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <48181d285623198c33bb9698992502687b258efa; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6cc92379b80af005e1f49ef6ef790cddc58cf0da

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS: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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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