CVE-2023-54053

Kernel crash via unchecked iwlwifi transport dereference

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025

A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux iwlwifi PCIe driver allows local users to crash the kernel during driver removal. After iwl_pci_probe frees a failed transport, iwl_pci_remove retrieves a null driver-data pointer and dereferences it without checking. Reaching the fault requires an affected Intel wireless device to fail probing and privileged removal or unloading of the PCIe driver; the observed consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux iwlwifi PCIe driver allows local users to crash the kernel during driver removal. After iwl_pci_probe frees a failed transport, iwl_pci_remove retrieves a null driver-data pointer and dereferences it without checking. Reaching the fault requires an affected Intel wireless device to fail probing and privileged removal or unloading of the PCIe driver; the observed consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54053
Published
Dec 24, 2025
Updated
Dec 24, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 24, 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 <0f9a1bcb94016d3a3c455a77b01f6bb06e15f6eb
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0fc0d287c1e7dcb39a3b9bb0f8679cd68c2156c7
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7545f21eee1356ec98581125c4dba9c4c0cc7397
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b655b9a9f8467684cfa8906713d33b71ea8c8f54
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcd23aa6cc0ded7950b60ce1badb80b84045c6c0
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <f6f2d16c77f936041b8ac495fceabded4ec6c83c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0f9a1bcb94016d3a3c455a77b01f6bb06e15f6eb; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <0fc0d287c1e7dcb39a3b9bb0f8679cd68c2156c7; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7545f21eee1356ec98581125c4dba9c4c0cc7397; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b655b9a9f8467684cfa8906713d33b71ea8c8f54; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcd23aa6cc0ded7950b60ce1badb80b84045c6c0; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <f6f2d16c77f936041b8ac495fceabded4ec6c83c

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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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