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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53602

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.42 / 6.4.7 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: ath11k: fix memory leak in WMI firmware stats Memory allocated for firmware pdev, vdev and beacon statistics are not released during rmmod. Fix it by calling ath11k_fw_stats_free() function before hardware unregister. While at it, avoid calling ath11k_fw_stats_free() while processing the firmware stats received in the WMI event because the local list is getting spliced and reinitialised and hence there are no elements in the list after splicing. Tested-on: QCN9074 hw1.0 PCI WLAN.HK.2.7.0.1-01744-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1

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-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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:>= 5.6, < 6.1.42>= 6.2, < 6.4.7

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 6.1.42 / 6.4.7 or later
Fixed in 6.1.426.4.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux Kernel 6.1.42+ (for 6.1.x branch) or 6.4.7+ (for 6.4.x branch), or apply vendor patch commit 55248d36beb79d3a61c9fb3122dc377fff523c89 to older branches

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which kernel branch your current version belongs to (e.g., 6.1.x or 6.4.x)
  3. For systems on 6.1.x branch: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.42 or later
  4. For systems on 6.4.x branch: upgrade to kernel version 6.4.7 or later
  5. For systems on older branches (< 6.1): apply the vendor patch commit 55248d36beb79d3a61c9fb3122dc377fff523c89 or upgrade to a supported stable branch
  6. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. Verify the fix is applied by checking the ath11k driver version or examining the relevant source code in `/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k/wmi.c` for the ath11k_fw_stats_free() call before hw_unregister
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce changes to other drivers or functionality; ensure compatibility with existing system configurations before upgrading

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 $1,600. 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-2023-53602 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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