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.
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.
References
Configurations
Configuration 1 (hide)
|
History
03 Feb 2026, 22:29
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS |
v2 : v3 : |
v2 : unknown
v3 : 5.5 |
| CWE | CWE-401 | |
| First Time |
Linux linux Kernel
Linux |
|
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/320d760a35273aa815d58b57e4fd9ba5279a3489 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/59073060fe0950c6ecbe12bdc06469dcac62128d - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6719e3797ec52cd144c8a5ba8aaab36674800585 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7654cc03eb699297130b693ec34e25f77b17c947 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f02d538878c9b1501f624595eb22ee4e5e0ff84 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b9356a3014123f0ce4b50d9278c1265173150ab - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9899318660791141ea6002fda5577b2c5d7386e - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0931fc8f4b6847c72e170d2326861c0a081d680 - Patch | |
| CPE | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
Information
Published : 2025-10-07 16:15
Updated : 2026-02-03 22:29
NVD link : CVE-2023-53641
Mitre link : CVE-2023-53641
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2023-53641
JSON object : View
Products Affected
linux
- linux_kernel
CWE
CWE-401
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime