CVE-2023-53641
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: fix memory leak of remain_skbs
hif_dev->remain_skb is allocated and used exclusively in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). It is implied that an allocated remain_skb is processed and subsequently freed (in error paths) only during the next call of ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream().
So, if the urbs are deallocated between those two calls due to the device deinitialization or suspend, it is possible that ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() is not called next time and the allocated remain_skb is leaked. Our local Syzkaller instance was able to trigger that.
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remain_skb makes sense when receiving two consecutive urbs which are logically linked together, i.e. a specific data field from the first skb indicates a cached skb to be allocated, memcpy'd with some data and subsequently processed in the next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). Urbs deallocation supposedly makes that link irrelevant so we need to free the cached skb in those cases.
Fix the leak by introducing a function to explicitly free remain_skb (if it is not NULL) when the rx urbs have been deallocated. remain_skb is NULL when it has not been allocated at all (hif_dev struct is kzalloced) or when it has been processed in next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream().
Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
CVSS
- Versión: 3.1
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Puntuación base: 5.5
Probabilidad de explotación (EPSS)
- Probabilidad de explotación en los próximos 30 días: 0.16%
- Percentil entre todas las CVEs puntuadas: 4
- Fecha de la puntuación: 6/10/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, de FIRST) estima la probabilidad de que una vulnerabilidad sea explotada en 30 días. Complementa a CVSS (impacto) y a CISA KEV (explotación confirmada).
Tecnologías afectadas (1)
CWE
- CWE-401
Referencias
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/320d760a35273aa815d58b57e4fd9ba5279a3489
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/59073060fe0950c6ecbe12bdc06469dcac62128d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6719e3797ec52cd144c8a5ba8aaab36674800585
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7654cc03eb699297130b693ec34e25f77b17c947
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f02d538878c9b1501f624595eb22ee4e5e0ff84
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b9356a3014123f0ce4b50d9278c1265173150ab
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9899318660791141ea6002fda5577b2c5d7386e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0931fc8f4b6847c72e170d2326861c0a081d680
JSON original (NVD)
Mostrar
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"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath9k: hif_usb: fix memory leak of remain_skbs\n\nhif_dev->remain_skb is allocated and used exclusively in\nath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). It is implied that an allocated remain_skb is\nprocessed and subsequently freed (in error paths) only during the next\ncall of ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream().\n\nSo, if the urbs are deallocated between those two calls due to the device\ndeinitialization or suspend, it is possible that ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream()\nis not called next time and the allocated remain_skb is leaked. Our local\nSyzkaller instance was able to trigger that.\n\nremain_skb makes sense when receiving two consecutive urbs which are\nlogically linked together, i.e. a specific data field from the first skb\nindicates a cached skb to be allocated, memcpy'd with some data and\nsubsequently processed in the next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). Urbs\ndeallocation supposedly makes that link irrelevant so we need to free the\ncached skb in those cases.\n\nFix the leak by introducing a function to explicitly free remain_skb (if\nit is not NULL) when the rx urbs have been deallocated. remain_skb is NULL\nwhen it has not been allocated at all (hif_dev struct is kzalloced) or\nwhen it has been processed in next call to ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream().\n\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller."
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