Linux Kernel up to 6.2.2 wifi cfg80211_sme_connect use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.7	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.2.2 and classified as critical. This affects the function cfg80211_sme_connect of the component wifi. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2023-53153. There is no available exploit. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.2.2. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function cfg80211_sme_connect of the component wifi. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: cfg80211: Fix use after free for wext Key information in wext.connect is not reset on (re)connect and can hold data from a previous connection. Reset key data to avoid that drivers or mac80211 incorrectly detect a WEP connection request and access the freed or already reused memory. Additionally optimize cfg80211_sme_connect() and avoid an useless schedule of conn_work.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-53153 since 05/02/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/10/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 270831 (SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:03614-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 4.14.308, 4.19.276, 5.4.235, 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16 or 6.2.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 66af4a2ab1d65d556d638cb9555a3b823c2557a9/a2a92b3e9d8e03ee3f9ee407fc46a9b4bd02d8b6/6f1959c17d4cb5b74af6fc31dc787e1dc3e4f6e2/2cfe78619b0de6d2da773978bc2d22797212eaa7/fd081afd21eb35b968b0330700c43ec94986e1c4/22dfb21bf1cd876616d45cda1bc6daa89eec6747/f4b6a138efb8a32507b8946104e32cb926308da7/015b8cc5e7c4d7bb671f1984d7b7338c310b185b is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (270831) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2053). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• F5 F5OS

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 4.14.307
• 4.19.275
• 5.4.234
• 5.10.172
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.15.46
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 5.15.78
• 5.15.79
• 5.15.80
• 5.15.81
• 5.15.82
• 5.15.83
• 5.15.84
• 5.15.85
• 5.15.86
• 5.15.87
• 5.15.88
• 5.15.89
• 5.15.90
• 5.15.91
• 5.15.92
• 5.15.93
• 5.15.94
• 5.15.95
• 5.15.96
• 5.15.97
• 5.15.98
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3
• 6.1.4
• 6.1.5
• 6.1.6
• 6.1.7
• 6.1.8
• 6.1.9
• 6.1.10
• 6.1.11
• 6.1.12
• 6.1.13
• 6.1.14
• 6.1.15
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.7

VulDB Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 270831
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:03614-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 4.14.308/4.19.276/5.4.235/5.10.173/5.15.99/6.1.16/6.2.3
Patch: 66af4a2ab1d65d556d638cb9555a3b823c2557a9/a2a92b3e9d8e03ee3f9ee407fc46a9b4bd02d8b6/6f1959c17d4cb5b74af6fc31dc787e1dc3e4f6e2/2cfe78619b0de6d2da773978bc2d22797212eaa7/fd081afd21eb35b968b0330700c43ec94986e1c4/22dfb21bf1cd876616d45cda1bc6daa89eec6747/f4b6a138efb8a32507b8946104e32cb926308da7/015b8cc5e7c4d7bb671f1984d7b7338c310b185b

Timelineinfo

05/02/2025 CVE reserved
09/15/2025 +136 days Advisory disclosed
09/15/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/10/2026 +117 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-53153 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-53153
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-323963
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2053 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 09/15/2025 16:44
Updated: 01/10/2026 19:43
Changes: 09/15/2025 16:44 (59), 10/22/2025 06:32 (2), 11/24/2025 22:09 (11), 12/28/2025 22:33 (7), 01/10/2026 19:43 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion

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