CVE-2023-53529

Local service interruption via retained USB probe allocation

Published Oct 1, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the rtw88 USB driver in Linux 5.2 through 6.3.3 allows local users to consume kernel memory through USB device probing. The rtw_usb_probe routine allocates a 512-byte object during USB probing, but rtw_usb_intf_deinit is the only documented path that frees it, leaving the allocation resident until driver teardown. Low-privileged local access and an rtw88-compatible USB device are required; repeated probes can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt the system.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the rtw88 USB driver in Linux 5.2 through 6.3.3 allows local users to consume kernel memory through USB device probing. The rtw_usb_probe routine allocates a 512-byte object during USB probing, but rtw_usb_intf_deinit is the only documented path that frees it, leaving the allocation resident until driver teardown. Low-privileged local access and an rtw88-compatible USB device are required; repeated probes can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53529
Published
Oct 1, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 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=5.2
  2. Affected versionversion=e3037485c68ec1a299ff41160d8fedbd4abc29b9 <59a3a312009723e3e5082899655fdcc420e2b47a
  3. Affected versionversion=e3037485c68ec1a299ff41160d8fedbd4abc29b9 <5bba1ad561a8b5bb14704d8f511cf10466336e3d

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.2; version=e3037485c68ec1a299ff41160d8fedbd4abc29b9 <59a3a312009723e3e5082899655fdcc420e2b47a; version=e3037485c68ec1a299ff41160d8fedbd4abc29b9 <5bba1ad561a8b5bb14704d8f511cf10466336e3d

Published CVSS scores

5.5CanonicalCVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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