CVE-2023-53199 [Medium] | Information Disclosure in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: clean up skbs if ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() fails Syzkaller detected a memory leak of skbs in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(). While processing skbs in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream(), the already allocated skbs in skb_pool are not freed if ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() fails. If we have an incorrect pkt_len or pkt_tag, the input skb is considered invalid and dropped. All the associated packets already in skb_pool should be dropped and freed. Added a comment describing this issue. The patch also makes remain_skb NULL after being processed so that it cannot be referenced after potential free. The initialization of hif_dev fields which are associated with remain_skb (rx_remain_len, rx_transfer_len and rx_pad_len) is moved after a new remain_skb is allocated. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2025-09-16	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2025-09-16

—

0.02%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
5.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	3.6	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

5.5

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

3.6

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53199

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2023-53199 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53199
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53199
`suse`	medium	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53199/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2023-53199 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 162, released 135, not-affected 80, needed 19, needs-triage 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53199

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53199

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 2.6.38, < 4.19.276	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.235	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.173	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.99	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.16	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.2.3	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2023-53199

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0af54343a76263a12dbae7fafb64eb47c4a6ad38	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fc6401fafde11712a83089fa2cc874cfd10e2cd	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/61490d2710277e8a55009b7682456ae22f8087cf	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9acdec72787af1bc8ed92711b52118c8e3e638a2	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c766e37fccd5a5c5059be7efcd9618bf8a2c17c3	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd8316767099920a5d41feed1afab0c482a43e9f	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f26dd69f61eff2eedf5df2d199bdd23108309947	Patch

URL

CVE-2023-53199 | wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: clean up skbs if ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() fails

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53199

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53199

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53199

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53199

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53199

References for CVE-2023-53199