CVE-2023-53808

Service interruption via leaked histogram-read pages

Published Dec 9, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux kernel mwifiex Wi-Fi driver allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated debugfs histogram reads. mwifiex_histogram_read() allocates a zeroed page before validating its private driver context and returns EFAULT without freeing that page when priv or hist_data is absent. Reaching the leaking error path requires local low-privileged access to the mwifiex histogram debugfs file and an absent driver context; repeated reads can interrupt service by exhausting kernel memory.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
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 Linux kernel mwifiex Wi-Fi driver allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated debugfs histogram reads. mwifiex_histogram_read() allocates a zeroed page before validating its private driver context and returns EFAULT without freeing that page when priv or hist_data is absent. Reaching the leaking error path requires local low-privileged access to the mwifiex histogram debugfs file and an absent driver context; repeated reads can interrupt service by exhausting kernel memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53808
Published
Dec 9, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 9, 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=4.0
  2. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <0c4240d23db525208fd40dd6371ca3254fa1b93d
  3. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <308eb3a609ac39ca9c3e466b35e8825007c8d826
  4. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <5d66b32a6ecf2e2e1a9523eaa4f8b314832fe06c
  5. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <7be90670b967d11f53a9d45bc88fa8ac9daf9709
  6. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <84081b4baafb49211193c6a056d5aee9c0e6ab8e
  7. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <8f717752f94efae84853e17f2589665c330a0cf5
  8. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <9c8fd72a5c2a031cbc680a2990107ecd958ffcdb
  9. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <d3b53ac2b60283f84bcc650aaa8af98500f37b56
  10. Affected versionversion=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <f76e1da838377777557d78dfeb6d8c532f7118be

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.0; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <0c4240d23db525208fd40dd6371ca3254fa1b93d; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <308eb3a609ac39ca9c3e466b35e8825007c8d826; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <5d66b32a6ecf2e2e1a9523eaa4f8b314832fe06c; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <7be90670b967d11f53a9d45bc88fa8ac9daf9709; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <84081b4baafb49211193c6a056d5aee9c0e6ab8e; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <8f717752f94efae84853e17f2589665c330a0cf5; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <9c8fd72a5c2a031cbc680a2990107ecd958ffcdb; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <d3b53ac2b60283f84bcc650aaa8af98500f37b56; version=cbf6e05527a7654ac1c4f4787dfd7a182fcc0c73 <f76e1da838377777557d78dfeb6d8c532f7118be

Published CVSS scores

5.5SUSECVSS: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

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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