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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53251

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.121 / 6.1.39 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: pcie: fix NULL pointer dereference in iwl_pcie_irq_rx_msix_handler() rxq can be NULL only when trans_pcie->rxq is NULL and entry->entry is zero. For the case when entry->entry is not equal to 0, rxq won't be NULL even if trans_pcie->rxq is NULL. Modify checker to check for trans_pcie->rxq.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.12, < 5.15.121>= 5.16, < 6.1.39>= 6.2, < 6.3.13>= 6.4, < 6.4.4

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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 5.15.121 / 6.1.39 / 6.3.13 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1216.1.396.3.13
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel >= 5.15.121 (for 5.15.x), >= 6.1.39 (for 6.1.x), >= 6.3.13 (for 6.3.x), or >= 6.4.4 (for 6.4.x) - or use latest stable kernel

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the running version falls within the affected range: >= 5.12 and < 5.15.121, >= 5.16 and < 6.1.39, >= 6.2 and < 6.3.13, or >= 6.4 and < 6.4.4
  3. If affected, upgrade to a kernel version >= the first fixed version in your stable branch: 5.15.121+, 6.1.39+, 6.3.13+, or 6.4.4+
  4. Update bootloader configuration if necessary using `update-grub` or equivalent for your distribution
  5. Reboot the system into the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming the iwlwifi module loads correctly
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver rebuilds for third-party modules; ensure all hardware drivers are compatible with the new kernel version

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-53251 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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