CVE-2023-53717

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Moderate Moderate Impact What does this mean?
5.8 CVSS v3 Base Score

Description

The MITRE CVE dictionary describes this issue as

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: Fix potential stack-out-of-bounds write in ath9k_wmi_rsp_callback() Fix a stack-out-of-bounds write that occurs in a WMI response callback function that is called after a timeout occurs in ath9k_wmi_cmd(). The callback writes to wmi->cmd_rsp_buf, a stack-allocated buffer that could no longer be valid when a timeout occurs. Set wmi->last_seq_id to 0 when a timeout occurred. Found by a modified version of syzkaller. BUG: KASAN: stack-out-of-bounds in ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx Write of size 4 Call Trace: memcpy ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx ath9k_htc_rx_msg ath9k_hif_usb_reg_in_cb __usb_hcd_giveback_urb usb_hcd_giveback_urb dummy_timer call_timer_fn run_timer_softirq __do_softirq irq_exit_rcu sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt

Statement

ath9k_wmi_cmd() could time out while a late WMI response still arrived and wrote into wmi->cmd_rsp_buf, which was a stack buffer no longer valid, causing a stack out-of-bounds write. The patch sets wmi->last_seq_id = 0 on timeout so late responses are discarded, preventing the write to a stale stack buffer. Primary impact is availability (kernel crash), with potential memory corruption in worst case. Triggering this issue typically requires local access with a connected AR9271 or ath9k_htc USB Wi-Fi dongle, along with the ability to induce command timeouts within the driver.

Mitigation

To mitigate this issue, prevent module ath9k_hw from being loaded. Please see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for how to blacklist a kernel module to prevent it from loading automatically.

Additional Information

External References

Content from www.cve.org is not included.https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53717

Content from nvd.nist.gov is not included.https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53717

Content from lore.kernel.org is not included.https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025102214-CVE-2023-53717-e88c@gregkh/T

Affected Packages and Issued Red Hat Security Errata

Products / Services Components State Errata
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 kernel Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 kernel Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 kernel-rt Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 kernel-rt Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 kernel Fixed RHSA-2023:7077
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 kernel-rt Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 kernel Fixed RHSA-2023:6583
Unless explicitly stated as not affected, all previous versions of packages in any minor update stream of a product listed here should be assumed vulnerable, although may not have been subject to full analysis.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authorities (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications ).

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown Red Hat NVD
CVSS v3 Base Score 5.8
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity High
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact Low
Integrity Impact Low
Availability Impact High

CVSS v3 Vector

Red Hat CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?

 For open source software shipped by multiple vendors, the CVSS base scores may vary for each vendor's version depending on the version they ship, how they ship it, the platform, and even how the software is compiled. This makes scoring of vulnerabilities difficult for third-party vulnerability databases such as NVD that only provide a single CVSS base score for each vulnerability. Red Hat scores reflect how a vulnerability affects our products specifically.

For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.

My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
  • "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
  • "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.

What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?

 A "will not fix" status means that a fix for an affected product version is not planned or not possible due to complexity, which may create additional risk.

Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
  • Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
  • Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
  • Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.

What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?

 A deferred status means that a fix for an affected product version is not guaranteed due to higher-priority development work.

Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
  • Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
  • Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
  • Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.

What is a mitigation?

 A mitigation is an action that can be taken to reduce the impact of a security vulnerability, without deploying any fixes.

I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?

 The listed products were found to include one or more of the components that this vulnerability affects. These products underwent a thorough evaluation to determine their affectedness by this vulnerability. Note that layered products (such as container-based offerings) that consume affected components from any of the products listed in this table may be affected and are not represented.

Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?

 In order to maintain code stability and compatibility, Red Hat usually does not rebase packages to entirely new versions. Instead, we backport fixes and new features to an older version of the package we distribute. This can result in some security scanners that only consider the package version to report the package as vulnerable. To avoid this, we suggest that you use an approved vulnerability scanner from our This content is not included.Red Hat Vulnerability Scanner Certification program.

My product is listed as "Out of Support Scope". What does this mean?

 When a product is listed as "Out of Support Scope", it means a vulnerability with the impact level assigned to this CVE is no longer covered by its current support lifecycle phase. The product has been identified to contain the impacted component, but analysis to determine whether it is affected or not by this vulnerability was not performed. The product should be assumed to be affected. Customers are advised to apply any mitigation options documented on this page, consider removing or disabling the impacted component, or upgrade to a supported version of the product that has an update available.