CVE-2023-54036 | wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU The wifi + bluetooth combo chip RTL8723BU can leak memory (especially?) when it's connected to a bluetooth audio device. The busy bluetooth traffic generates lots of C2H (card to host) messages, which are not freed correctly. To fix this, move the dev_kfree_skb() call in rtl8xxxu_c2hcmd_callback() inside the loop where skb_dequeue() is called. The RTL8192EU leaks memory because the C2H messages are added to the queue and left there forever. (This was fine in the past because it probably wasn't sending any C2H messages until commit e542e66b7c2e ("wifi: rtl8xxxu: gen2: Turn on the rate control"). Since that commit it sends a C2H message when the TX rate changes.) To fix this, delete the check for rf_paths > 1 and the goto. Let the function process the C2H messages from RTL8192EU like the ones from the other chips. Theoretically the RTL8188FU could also leak like RTL8723BU, but it most likely doesn't send C2H messages frequently enough. This change was tested with RTL8723BU by Erhard F. I tested it with RTL8188FU and RTL8192EU.

Published: 2025-12-24 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-54036 is rated Low Risk (3.9/100): low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-54036

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-12-24 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-54036

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

No CVSS data in dataset for this CVE.

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-54036

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-54036

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-54036 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-2023-54036
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-54036
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-54036/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-54036 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1405 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1010, ignored 174, released 108, not-affected 75, needed 37, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-54036

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-54036

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2023-54036

cvelogic Threat Intelligence