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CVE Record

CVE-2023-54131: wifi: rt2x00: Fix memory leak when handling surveys

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rt2x00: Fix memory leak when handling surveys When removing a rt2x00 device, its associated channel surveys are not freed, causing a memory leak observable with kmemleak: unreferenced object 0xffff9620f0881a00 (size 512): comm "systemd-udevd", pid 2290, jiffies 4294906974 (age 33.768s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 70 44 12 00 00 00 00 00 92 8a 00 00 00 00 00 00 pD.............. 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ab 87 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<ffffffffb0ed858b>] __kmalloc+0x4b/0x130 [<ffffffffc1b0f29b>] rt2800_probe_hw+0xc2b/0x1380 [rt2800lib] [<ffffffffc1a9496e>] rt2800usb_probe_hw+0xe/0x60 [rt2800usb] [<ffffffffc1ae491a>] rt2x00lib_probe_dev+0x21a/0x7d0 [rt2x00lib] [<ffffffffc1b3b83e>] rt2x00usb_probe+0x1be/0x980 [rt2x00usb] [<ffffffffc05981e2>] usb_probe_interface+0xe2/0x310 [usbcore] [<ffffffffb13be2d5>] really_probe+0x1a5/0x410 [<ffffffffb13be5c8>] __driver_probe_device+0x78/0x180 [<ffffffffb13be6fe>] driver_probe_device+0x1e/0x90 [<ffffffffb13be972>] __driver_attach+0xd2/0x1c0 [<ffffffffb13bbc57>] bus_for_each_dev+0x77/0xd0 [<ffffffffb13bd2a2>] bus_add_driver+0x112/0x210 [<ffffffffb13bfc6c>] driver_register+0x5c/0x120 [<ffffffffc0596ae8>] usb_register_driver+0x88/0x150 [usbcore] [<ffffffffb0c011c4>] do_one_initcall+0x44/0x220 [<ffffffffb0d6134c>] do_init_module+0x4c/0x220 Fix this by freeing the channel surveys on device removal. Tested with a RT3070 based USB wireless adapter.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2023-54131 is a Linux kernel memory leak in the rt2x00 Wi-Fi driver family. When an affected wireless device is removed, channel survey memory is not freed. The main business concern is gradual resource loss on systems using these adapters, not data theft. No public source here indicates active exploitation.

Executive priority

Low urgency for most enterprises. Patch through normal kernel maintenance unless affected Wi-Fi adapters are widely used in kiosks, labs, embedded fleets, or user-accessible systems.

Technical view

The issue is in Linux wireless rt2x00 handling of survey data during device removal. The kernel fix frees channel surveys on removal. The report includes kmemleak evidence during rt2800/rt2800usb probing and notes testing with an RT3070-based USB wireless adapter. Upstream stable fix commits are referenced.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using affected rt2x00/rt2800 wireless drivers, especially removable USB Wi-Fi adapters. Servers without these drivers or devices are likely not exposed. Distribution-specific affected and fixed kernel versions require vendor confirmation.

Exploitation context

Sources describe a memory leak triggered during device removal. They do not describe remote exploitation, privilege escalation, data exposure, or active exploitation. CISA KEV status in the bundle is false.

Researcher notes

The public record provides a clear root cause and upstream fix, but limited scoring detail. Treat version exposure carefully because downstream kernels may backport fixes without changing major version numbers.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor kernel containing the upstream stable rt2x00 survey-freeing fix.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions.
  • Prioritize systems using rt2x00 or RT3070-class USB wireless adapters.
  • Reduce unnecessary use of removable rt2x00 Wi-Fi devices until patched.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts with rt2x00, rt2800usb, or rt2800lib drivers loaded.
  • Confirm running kernel includes one of the referenced stable fixes or vendor backport.
  • Review distro kernel changelogs for CVE-2023-54131 or rt2x00 survey handling fixes.
  • On test systems, monitor kernel memory leak diagnostics after adapter removal.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux5447626910f5b8d964761ed4fa4feaf1a3ac47d0, 5447626910f5b8d964761ed4fa4feaf1a3ac47d0, 5447626910f5b8d964761ed4fa4feaf1a3ac47d0, 5447626910f5b8d964761ed4fa4feaf1a3ac47d0, 5447626910f5b8d964761ed4fa4feaf1a3ac47d0unaffected
LinuxLinux5.11, 0, 5.15.111, 6.1.28, 6.2.15, 6.3.2, 6.4affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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