CVE-2023-53548Public exploit

Service interruption via unchecked USB endpoints

Published Oct 4, 2025 · Updated Oct 4, 2025

Improper endpoint validation in the Linux kernel usbnet driver allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt USB network traffic. The usbnet probe path trusts bulk endpoint addresses supplied through driver_info without verifying that matching endpoints exist with the expected type and direction. A crafted USB device must present malicious descriptors; subsequent URB submission produces a kernel warning and transmission failure, with no reported confidentiality or integrity effect.

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

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper endpoint validation in the Linux kernel usbnet driver allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt USB network traffic. The usbnet probe path trusts bulk endpoint addresses supplied through driver_info without verifying that matching endpoints exist with the expected type and direction. A crafted USB device must present malicious descriptors; subsequent URB submission produces a kernel warning and transmission failure, with no reported confidentiality or integrity effect.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53548
Published
Oct 4, 2025
Updated
Oct 4, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-20, T1200
Attack vector
physical
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0dd3e0c31bf3e933fb85faf1443833aef90b8e46
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1bebbd9b8037a9cc75984317cb495dec4824c399
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <27d0f755d649d388fcd12f01436c9a33289e14e3
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <53c250ea57cf03af41339234b9855ae284f9db91
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <5e1627cb43ddf1b24b92eb26f8d958a3f5676ccb
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a05ac5d00eb7fcb2fda806caa4f56e88df6bc6bb
  7. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a0715d04cf687a7e21f0d6ac8c1d479294a3f6f8
  8. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ec0d0be41721aca683c5606354a58ee2c687e3f8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorphysical
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0dd3e0c31bf3e933fb85faf1443833aef90b8e46; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1bebbd9b8037a9cc75984317cb495dec4824c399; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <27d0f755d649d388fcd12f01436c9a33289e14e3; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <53c250ea57cf03af41339234b9855ae284f9db91; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <5e1627cb43ddf1b24b92eb26f8d958a3f5676ccb; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a05ac5d00eb7fcb2fda806caa4f56e88df6bc6bb; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a0715d04cf687a7e21f0d6ac8c1d479294a3f6f8; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ec0d0be41721aca683c5606354a58ee2c687e3f8

Published CVSS scores

4.3Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.

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

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorphysical
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1200Hardware Additions

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo