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Wilink8 Wifi Mcp8Application · Ti

CVE-2023-29468

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Texas Instruments (TI) WiLink WL18xx MCP driver does not limit the number of information elements (IEs) of type XCC_EXT_1_IE_ID or XCC_EXT_2_IE_ID that can be parsed in a management frame. Using a specially crafted frame, a buffer overflow can be triggered that can potentially lead to remote code execution. This affects WILINK8-WIFI-MCP8 version 8.5_SP3 and earlier.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow in Texas Instruments WiLink WL18xx MCP driver due to unbounded parsing of XCC_EXT_1_IE_ID and XCC_EXT_2_IE_ID information elements in management frames, allowing remote code execution with network-adjacent attack vector.

MitigationUpgrade WiLink WL18xx firmware/driver to a version beyond 8.5_SP3 that implements proper IE count limiting; if no update available, implement bounds checking in driver source code to limit number of parsed XCC extension IEs.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Wilink8 Wifi Mcp8Application
Affected:< 8.5= 8.5

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify WiLink WL18xx driver presence
    Check system for Texas Instruments WiLink WL18xx MCP driver files or modules - look for wl18xx driver modules, firmware files (typically in /lib/firmware/ti-connectivity/ or similar), or check dmesg/lsmod for wl18xx/wlcore modules
    Affected if The system has Ti WiLink WL18xx driver or firmware loaded
  2. Determine MCP firmware version
    Read the WiLink MCP firmware version from driver debugfs (e.g., /sys/kernel/debug/wlcore/version), ethtool output, or firmware file metadata - compare against the reported version string
    Affected if Version is less than 8.5 or exactly 8.5 (e.g., 8.0, 8.1, 8.4, 8.5)
  3. Confirm driver parses XCC extension IEs
    Verify the driver is configured to process management frames containing XCC_EXT_1_IE_ID and XCC_EXT_2_IE_ID information elements - this is typically enabled by default in the driver; check driver config or kernel modules loaded for wireless management frame handling
    Affected if XCC extension IE parsing is enabled in driver configuration (default behavior in affected versions)
  4. Verify network-adjacent exposure
    Confirm the device has WiFi interface active using the affected driver - check wireless interface status (iwconfig, ip link show) and ensure device is in range of potential attackers
    Affected if WiFi interface using wl18xx driver is active and network-adjacent attackers can send management frames

User is affected if the system uses WiLink WL18xx MCP driver with version less than 8.5 or exactly 8.5 and has an active WiFi interface that can receive management frames with XCC extension IEs.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.5 or later
Fixed in 8.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade WiLink WL18xx firmware/driver to a version beyond 8.5_SP3 that implements proper IE count limiting; if no update available, implement bounds checking in driver source code to limit number of parsed XCC extension IEs.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Any version newer than 8.5_SP3 (e.g., 8.5_SP4 or later release) from Texas Instruments

  1. 1. Identify the current WILINK8-WIFI-MCP8 driver version in use by checking the system's driver or firmware documentation
  2. 2. Navigate to Texas Instruments official support or download page for WiLink drivers at www.ti.com
  3. 3. Locate the latest WILINK8-WIFI-MCP8 driver version available from TI
  4. 4. Download the updated driver package from TI's official source
  5. 5. Follow TI's provided installation instructions to apply the driver update
  6. 6. Verify the new driver version matches the intended fixed release
  7. 7. Test the wireless functionality to ensure proper operation after the update
Caveat Review TI's release notes for any changes to configuration or compatibility with specific hardware or software platforms

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Wilink8 Wifi Mcp8 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,920
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,072.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-29468 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data