CVE-2023-53540

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Reject such connections so we don't\ntry and fail later."}], "metrics": [{"cvssV3_1": {"version": "3.1", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H", "baseScore": 7.1, "baseSeverity": "HIGH"}, "scenarios": [{"lang": "en", "value": "AV:A - The BSS parameters that trigger the bug originate from attacker-transmitted beacon/probe-response frames, which cfg80211 accepts into the scan cache without rejecting a BSSID equal to a local interface address; an attacker in WiFi range can therefore induce the victim's SME to auth/assoc to a self-addressed BSS. Per WiFi frame-injection guidance this is Adjacent.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls the beacon's BSSID/MLD address and SSID, and the victim STA's MAC address is passively observable from its probe requests; the victim's connection attempt is routine auto-join behavior that the attacker can force by deauthing it from its real AP.\nPR:N - A rogue AP needs no credentials or prior association with the victim, and the failure occurs in the pre-authentication auth/assoc path before any key exchange.\nUI:N - Automatic reconnection to a known/matching SSID by wpa_supplicant or the kernel SME requires no human action, and the attacker can trigger it on demand with a deauth.\nS:U - The WARN_ON and the corrupted MLME state are entirely within the kernel's own security authority; no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:N - No out-of-bounds read, uninitialized memory disclosure, or other read primitive is created; the attacker gains no access to kernel or user data.\nI:L - The attacker's rogue BSS causes mac80211 to tear down the legitimate association and leaves inconsistent state behind (`vif.cfg.ap_addr` set to the interface's own address, and in the MLO case a link_sta bearing our own address inserted into `local->link_sta_hash`), a bounded modification of kernel connection state rather than arbitrary write.\nA:H - The path reaches `WARN_ON()` in `sta_info_insert_check()`, which is a kernel panic on the many deployments running `panic_on_warn=1`, and can be triggered repeatedly to persistently deny WiFi connectivity."}]}], "affected": [{"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["net/wireless/mlme.c"], "versions": [{"version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "676a423410131d111a264d29aecbe6aadd57fb22", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "07added2c6cd63de047bc786b39436322abb67c0", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "5d4e04bf3a0f098bd9033de3a5291810fa14c7a6", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}]}, {"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["net/wireless/mlme.c"], "versions": [{"version": "2.6.32", "status": "affected"}, {"version": "0", "lessThan": "2.6.32", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.1.55", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.5.5", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.5.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.6", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"}]}], "cpeApplicability": [{"nodes": [{"operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "2.6.32", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.55"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "2.6.32", "versionEndExcluding": "6.5.5"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "2.6.32", "versionEndExcluding": "6.6"}]}]}], "references": [{"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/676a423410131d111a264d29aecbe6aadd57fb22"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07added2c6cd63de047bc786b39436322abb67c0"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d4e04bf3a0f098bd9033de3a5291810fa14c7a6"}], "title": "wifi: cfg80211: reject auth/assoc to AP with our address", "x_generator": {"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"}}, "adp": [{"metrics": [{"other": {"type": "ssvc", "content": {"id": "CVE-2023-53540", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [{"Exploitation": "none"}, {"Automatable": "no"}, {"Technical Impact": "partial"}], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2026-10-15T21:35:31.319969Z"}}}], "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment", "providerMetadata": {"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "shortName": "CISA-ADP", "dateUpdated": "2026-10-15T21:41:30.375Z"}}]}}

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Per WiFi frame-injection guidance this is Adjacent.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls the beacon's BSSID/MLD address and SSID, and the victim STA's MAC address is passively observable from its probe requests; the victim's connection attempt is routine auto-join behavior that the attacker can force by deauthing it from its real AP.\nPR:N - A rogue AP needs no credentials or prior association with the victim, and the failure occurs in the pre-authentication auth/assoc path before any key exchange.\nUI:N - Automatic reconnection to a known/matching SSID by wpa_supplicant or the kernel SME requires no human action, and the attacker can trigger it on demand with a deauth.\nS:U - The WARN_ON and the corrupted MLME state are entirely within the kernel's own security authority; no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:N - No out-of-bounds read, uninitialized memory disclosure, or other read primitive is created; the attacker gains no access to kernel or user data.\nI:L - The attacker's rogue BSS causes mac80211 to tear down the legitimate association and leaves inconsistent state behind (`vif.cfg.ap_addr` set to the interface's own address, and in the MLO case a link_sta bearing our own address inserted into `local->link_sta_hash`), a bounded modification of kernel connection state rather than arbitrary write.\nA:H - The path reaches `WARN_ON()` in `sta_info_insert_check()`, which is a kernel panic on the many deployments running `panic_on_warn=1`, and can be triggered repeatedly to persistently deny WiFi connectivity."}]}], "affected": [{"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "product": "Linux", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "676a423410131d111a264d29aecbe6aadd57fb22", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "07added2c6cd63de047bc786b39436322abb67c0", "versionType": "git"}, {"status": "affected", "version": "19957bb399e2722719c0e20c9ae91cf8b6aaff04", "lessThan": "5d4e04bf3a0f098bd9033de3a5291810fa14c7a6", "versionType": "git"}], "programFiles": ["net/wireless/mlme.c"], "defaultStatus": "unaffected"}, {"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "product": "Linux", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "2.6.32"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "0", "lessThan": "2.6.32", "versionType": "semver"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.1.55", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.5.5", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.5.*"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "6.6", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix", "lessThanOrEqual": "*"}], "programFiles": ["net/wireless/mlme.c"], "defaultStatus": "affected"}], "references": [{"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/676a423410131d111a264d29aecbe6aadd57fb22"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07added2c6cd63de047bc786b39436322abb67c0"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d4e04bf3a0f098bd9033de3a5291810fa14c7a6"}], "x_generator": {"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"}, "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: cfg80211: reject auth/assoc to AP with our address\n\nIf the AP uses our own address as its MLD address or BSSID, then\nclearly something's wrong. 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{"bugzilla": {"description": "kernel: wifi: cfg80211: reject auth/assoc to AP with our address", "id": "2401535", "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2401535"}, "csaw": false, "cvss3": {"cvss3_base_score": "7.0", "cvss3_scoring_vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "status": "draft"}, "details": ["In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\nwifi: cfg80211: reject auth/assoc to AP with our address\nIf the AP uses our own address as its MLD address or BSSID, then\nclearly something's wrong. Reject such connections so we don't\ntry and fail later."], "name": "CVE-2023-53540", "package_state": [{"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6", "fix_state": "Out of support scope", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Affected", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:rhivos:1", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System 1"}], "public_date": "2025-10-04T00:00:00Z", "references": ["https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53540\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53540\nhttps://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025100444-CVE-2023-53540-8805@gregkh/T"], "threat_severity": "Moderate"}

{"created": "2025-10-06T14:41:05.860359+00:00", "updated": "2025-10-06T14:41:05.860410+00:00", "vendors": ["linux", "linux$PRODUCT$linux_kernel"]}