high CVSS 7.1 EPSS <0.1%

CVE-2023-52525·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mwifiex: Fix oob check condition in mwifiex_process_rx_packet Only skip the code path trying to access the rfc1042 headers when the buffer is too small, so the driver can still process packets without rfc1042 headers.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.5.7
Published

How likely is exploitation

FIRST's Exploit Prediction Scoring System puts the probability of this CVE being exploited in the next 30 days at <0.1% — higher than 2% of all published CVEs. EPSS is an independent forecast of exploitation, not a severity rating: it says nothing about how much damage a successful attack does, which is what a CVSS score measures.

Read the two together. CVE-2023-52525 scores 7.1 on CVSS, so a successful attack would be serious — but at <0.1%, almost nobody is currently attempting it. That is a different situation from a flaw under mass exploitation, and it is usually the difference between patching on your next maintenance window and patching tonight.

Affected versions

From: 6.5.3

Until: 6.5.7

Fixed in: 6.5.7

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.5.7 or later to resolve this out-of-bounds access vulnerability in the mwifiex WiFi driver. The vulnerability affects kernel versions 6.5.3 through 6.5.7 and can cause system crashes or information disclosure when processing malformed wireless packets. Apply the patch immediately if you are running an affected kernel version with the mwifiex driver enabled.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check your current kernel version with 'uname -r' and compare against vulnerable range 6.5.3-6.5.7
  2. Step 2: Verify mwifiex driver is loaded by running 'lsmod | grep mwifiex' or checking 'cat /proc/modules'
  3. Step 3: Search kernel logs for mwifiex-related errors using 'dmesg | grep -i mwifiex' or 'journalctl -u kernel | grep mwifiex'
  4. Step 4: After patching, confirm kernel version with 'uname -r' and verify it is 6.5.7 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2023-52525?

CVE-2023-52525 is an out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mwifiex WiFi driver that occurs when processing packets without RFC1042 headers. An attacker sending specially crafted wireless frames could trigger an out-of-bounds read, potentially causing a kernel crash or information leak.

Is CVE-2023-52525 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2023-52525 is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are currently available.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2023-52525?

Linux kernel versions 6.5.3 through 6.5.7 are affected. Versions 6.5.7 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2023-52525?

Run 'uname -r' to check your kernel version. If it reports 6.5.3 through 6.5.6 and 'lsmod | grep mwifiex' shows the driver is loaded, your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2023-52525?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2023-52525 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

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CVE-2026-52955CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: libceph: Fix potential out-of-bounds access in crush_decode() A message of type CEPH_MSG_OSD_MAP containing a crush map with at least one bucket has two fields holding the bucket algorithm. If the values in these two fields differ, an out-of-bounds access can occur. This is the case because the first algorithm field (alg) is used to allocate the correct amount of memory for a bucket of this type, while the second algorithm field inside the bucket (b->alg) is used in the subsequent processing. This patch fixes the issue by adding a check that compares alg and b->alg and aborts the processing in case they differ. Furthermore, b->alg is set to 0 in this case, because the destruction of the crush map also uses this field to determine the bucket type, which can again result in an out-of-bounds access when trying to free the memory pointed to by the fields of the bucket. To correctly free the memory allocated for the bucket in such a case, the corresponding call to kfree is moved from the algorithm-specific crush_destroy_bucket functions to the generic crush_destroy_bucket().
CVE-2026-53384CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dw: unregister 8250 port if clk_notifier_register() fails dw8250_probe() registers the 8250 port via serial8250_register_8250_port() and then, if the device has a clock, registers a clock notifier. If clk_notifier_register() fails, probe returns the error but leaves the 8250 port registered. The matching serial8250_unregister_port() lives in dw8250_remove(), which is not called when probe fails, so the port slot stays occupied until the device is rebound or the system is rebooted. The devm-allocated driver data is freed while the port still references it (via the saved private_data and serial_in/serial_out callbacks), so any access to that port slot before a rebind is a use-after-free hazard. Unregister the port on the clk_notifier_register() error path.
CVE-2026-52931CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: tp_meter: avoid use of uninit sender vars batadv_tp_recv_ack() and batadv_tp_stop() are only valid for tp_vars in the BATADV_TP_SENDER role. When called with a BATADV_TP_RECEIVER role, it proceeds to read sender-only members that were never initialized, leading to undefined behavior. This can be triggered when a node that is currently acting as a receiver in an ongoing tp_meter session receives a malicious ACK packet. Guard against this by checking tp_vars->role immediately after the lookup and bailing out if it is not BATADV_TP_SENDER, before any of those members are accessed.
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References

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