Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53679

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.235 / 5.10.173 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: mt7601u: fix an integer underflow Fix an integer underflow that leads to a null pointer dereference in 'mt7601u_rx_skb_from_seg()'. The variable 'dma_len' in the URB packet could be manipulated, which could trigger an integer underflow of 'seg_len' in 'mt7601u_rx_process_seg()'. This underflow subsequently causes the 'bad_frame' checks in 'mt7601u_rx_skb_from_seg()' to be bypassed, eventually leading to a dereference of the pointer 'p', which is a null pointer. Ensure that 'dma_len' is greater than 'min_seg_len'. Found by a modified version of syzkaller. KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f] CPU: 0 PID: 12 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Tainted: G W O 5.14.0+ #139 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.12.1-0-ga5cab58e9a3f-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:skb_add_rx_frag+0x143/0x370 Code: e2 07 83 c2 03 38 ca 7c 08 84 c9 0f 85 86 01 00 00 4c 8d 7d 08 44 89 68 08 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 4c 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 cd 01 00 00 48 8b 45 08 a8 01 0f 85 3d 01 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc900000cfc90 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffff888115520dc0 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffff8881118430c0 RDI: ffff8881118430f8 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000e09 R09: 0000000000000010 R10: ffff888111843017 R11: ffffed1022308602 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000e09 R14: 0000000000000010 R15: 0000000000000008 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88811a800000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000000004035af40 CR3: 00000001157f2000 CR4: 0000000000750ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: mt7601u_rx_tasklet+0xc73/0x1270 ? mt7601u_submit_rx_buf.isra.0+0x510/0x510 ? tasklet_action_common.isra.0+0x79/0x2f0 tasklet_action_common.isra.0+0x206/0x2f0 __do_softirq+0x1b5/0x880 ? tasklet_unlock+0x30/0x30 run_ksoftirqd+0x26/0x50 smpboot_thread_fn+0x34f/0x7d0 ? smpboot_register_percpu_thread+0x370/0x370 kthread+0x3a1/0x480 ? set_kthread_struct+0x120/0x120 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 Modules linked in: 88XXau(O) 88x2bu(O) ---[ end trace 57f34f93b4da0f9b ]--- RIP: 0010:skb_add_rx_frag+0x143/0x370 Code: e2 07 83 c2 03 38 ca 7c 08 84 c9 0f 85 86 01 00 00 4c 8d 7d 08 44 89 68 08 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 4c 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 cd 01 00 00 48 8b 45 08 a8 01 0f 85 3d 01 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc900000cfc90 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffff888115520dc0 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffff8881118430c0 RDI: ffff8881118430f8 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000e09 R09: 0000000000000010 R10: ffff888111843017 R11: ffffed1022308602 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000e09 R14: 0000000000000010 R15: 0000000000000008 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88811a800000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000000004035af40 CR3: 00000001157f2000 CR4: 0000000000750ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 4.2, < 5.4.235>= 5.5, < 5.10.173>= 5.11, < 5.15.99>= 5.16, < 6.1.16>= 6.2, < 6.2.3

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 5.4.235 / 5.10.173 / 5.15.99 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2355.10.1735.15.99
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Any stable kernel version >= 5.4.235, >= 5.10.173, >= 5.15.99, or >= 6.1.16 (choose based on your distribution's supported kernels)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Check if your distribution provides a kernel update package (e.g., apt update && apt upgrade linux-image*, yum update kernel, dnf update kernel, or your distribution's package manager)
  3. Upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix: 5.4.235 or higher, 5.10.173 or higher, 5.15.99 or higher, or 6.1.16 or higher
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the new kernel is running with 'uname -r' and confirm the version includes the fix
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting and could have compatibility implications with third-party kernel modules; ensure critical modules are available for the target 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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-53679 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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