CVE-2023-53529
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's rtw88 USB WiFi driver. When the driver is loaded via USB probe, it fails to properly free allocated memory, causing a kernel memory leak. This affects Linux systems using Realtek rtw88 WiFi chips via USB interfaces.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with rtw88 USB driver
📦 What is this software?
Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Sustained memory exhaustion leading to kernel panic or system crash due to out-of-memory conditions, potentially causing denial of service.
Likely Case
Gradual memory consumption over time, reducing available system memory and potentially degrading performance, especially on systems with limited RAM.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper monitoring and system restarts; memory leak only occurs during driver operation and stops when driver is unloaded.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires the vulnerable driver to be loaded and used; not a remote code execution vulnerability.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 59a3a312009723e3e5082899655fdcc420e2b47a or 5bba1ad561a8b5bb14704d8f511cf10466336e3d
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/59a3a312009723e3e5082899655fdcc420e2b47a
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. Reboot system to load patched kernel. 3. Verify driver version after reboot.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable rtw88 USB driver
linuxPrevent loading of the vulnerable driver module
echo 'blacklist rtw_usb' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rtw_usb.conf
update-initramfs -u
reboot
Unload driver if not needed
linuxRemove the driver module if USB WiFi is not in use
rmmod rtw_usb
rmmod rtw88_usb
rmmod rtw88_core
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Avoid using Realtek rtw88 USB WiFi adapters on affected systems
- Implement system monitoring for memory consumption and restart systems showing abnormal memory usage
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if rtw_usb module is loaded: lsmod | grep rtw_usb. If loaded and kernel version is before fix commits, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Check kernel version includes fix commits: uname -r and verify against patched versions. Also monitor memory usage over time with free -h.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel oom-killer messages in /var/log/kern.log
- Increasing memory usage in system logs
- Driver load/unload events for rtw_usb
Network Indicators:
- None - this is not a network exploitable vulnerability
SIEM Query:
source="kern.log" AND "Out of memory" OR "oom-killer"