Linux Kernel up to 6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1 mt76 mcu_get_nic_capability null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1. Affected is the function mcu_get_nic_capability of the component mt76. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-53232. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.27/6.2.14/6.3.1. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function mcu_get_nic_capability of the component mt76. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mt76: mt7921: fix kernel panic by accessing unallocated eeprom.data The MT7921 driver no longer uses eeprom.data, but the relevant code has not been removed completely since commit 16d98b548365 ("mt76: mt7921: rely on mcu_get_nic_capability"). This could result in potential invalid memory access. To fix the kernel panic issue in mt7921, it is necessary to avoid accessing unallocated eeprom.data which can lead to invalid memory access. Furthermore, it is possible to entirely eliminate the mt7921_mcu_parse_eeprom function and solely depend on mt7921_mcu_parse_response to divide the RxD header. [2.702735] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000550 [2.702740] #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode [2.702741] #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page [2.702743] PGD 0 P4D 0 [2.702747] Oops: 0002 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI [2.702755] RIP: 0010:mt7921_mcu_parse_response+0x147/0x170 [mt7921_common] [2.702758] RSP: 0018:ffffae7c00fef828 EFLAGS: 00010286 [2.702760] RAX: ffffa367f57be024 RBX: ffffa367cc7bf500 RCX: 0000000000000000 [2.702762] RDX: 0000000000000550 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffa367cc7bf500 [2.702763] RBP: ffffae7c00fef840 R08: ffffa367cb167000 R09: 0000000000000005 [2.702764] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: ffffffffc04702e4 R12: ffffa367e8329f40 [2.702766] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: ffffa367e8329f40 [2.702768] FS: 000079ee6cf20c40(0000) GS:ffffa36b2f940000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [2.702769] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [2.702775] CR2: 0000000000000550 CR3: 00000001233c6004 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 [2.702776] PKRU: 55555554 [2.702777] Call Trace: [2.702782] mt76_mcu_skb_send_and_get_msg+0xc3/0x11e [mt76 <HASH:1bc4 5>] [2.702785] mt7921_run_firmware+0x241/0x853 [mt7921_common <HASH:6a2f 6>] [2.702789] mt7921e_mcu_init+0x2b/0x56 [mt7921e <HASH:d290 7>] [2.702792] mt7921_register_device+0x2eb/0x5a5 [mt7921_common <HASH:6a2f 6>] [2.702795] ? mt7921_irq_tasklet+0x1d4/0x1d4 [mt7921e <HASH:d290 7>] [2.702797] mt7921_pci_probe+0x2d6/0x319 [mt7921e <HASH:d290 7>] [2.702799] pci_device_probe+0x9f/0x12a

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-53232 since 09/15/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 274937 (RHEL 9 : kernel (RHSA-2025:21051)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.28, 6.2.15 or 6.3.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 11181b6c8641cd417935b76ea997d0169f2db262/c8ba6780c65f681d217de79e17d63d5d538a239f/ec4d97e8eddcfa9f63f2f62adec5fb4f941ba2ef/12db28c3ef31f719bd18fa186a40bb152e6a527c 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 (274937) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2053). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source 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

• 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
• 6.1.16
• 6.1.17
• 6.1.18
• 6.1.19
• 6.1.20
• 6.1.21
• 6.1.22
• 6.1.23
• 6.1.24
• 6.1.25
• 6.1.26
• 6.1.27
• 6.2.0
• 6.2.1
• 6.2.2
• 6.2.3
• 6.2.4
• 6.2.5
• 6.2.6
• 6.2.7
• 6.2.8
• 6.2.9
• 6.2.10
• 6.2.11
• 6.2.12
• 6.2.13
• 6.2.14
• 6.3.0
• 6.3.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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