CVE-2023-53574
📋 TL;DR
A memory leak and potential crash vulnerability in the Linux kernel's rtw88 WiFi driver occurs when unloading the driver. The driver fails to properly delete a timer and free memory queues during deinitialization, which could lead to system instability. This affects Linux systems using Realtek rtw88 WiFi chipsets.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with rtw88 WiFi 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
Kernel panic or system crash leading to denial of service, with potential memory exhaustion over repeated driver reloads.
Likely Case
Memory leak causing gradual performance degradation, with possible system instability when reloading WiFi drivers.
If Mitigated
Minor performance impact with no security compromise when patched.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local access and ability to unload kernel modules. Not directly exploitable for privilege escalation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 4128b00a6006870e117ab1841e58f369e9284ecb and 634fcbcaa4062db39aeb5ac6ed1bc1feb8dd5216
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4128b00a6006870e117ab1841e58f369e9284ecb
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to update kernel. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Prevent driver unloading
linuxPrevent unloading of rtw88 driver modules to avoid triggering the vulnerability
echo 'install rtw88 /bin/false' >> /etc/modprobe.d/rtw88.conf
echo 'blacklist rtw88' >> /etc/modprobe.d/rtw88.conf
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Avoid unloading rtw88 driver modules
- Monitor system memory usage and restart if memory leaks are detected
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check kernel version and if rtw88 module is loaded: 'uname -r' and 'lsmod | grep rtw88'Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes fix commits or is newer than vulnerable versions📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel oops messages
- Memory allocation failures in kernel logs
- System crash/panic logs
Network Indicators:
- WiFi interface disappearance/reappearance
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("rtw88" OR "Oops" OR "kernel panic")