Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-54036)

Summary

Vulnerability in Kernel (CVE-2023-54036). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Mitigation: upgrade to 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU

The wifi + bluetooth combo chip RTL8723BU can leak memory (especially?)
when it's connected to a bluetooth audio device. The busy bluetooth
traffic generates lots of C2H (card to host) messages, which are not
freed correctly.

To fix this, move the dev_kfree_skb() call in rtl8xxxu_c2hcmd_callback()
inside the loop where skb_dequeue() is called.

The RTL8192EU leaks memory because the C2H messages are added to the
queue and left there forever. (This was fine in the past because it
probably wasn't sending any C2H messages until commit e542e66b7c2e
("wifi: rtl8xxxu: gen2: Turn on the rate control"). Since that commit
it sends a C2H message when the TX rate changes.)

To fix this, delete the check for rf_paths > 1 and the goto. Let the
function process the C2H messages from RTL8192EU like the ones from
the other chips.

Theoretically the RTL8188FU could also leak like RTL8723BU, but it
most likely doesn't send C2H messages frequently enough.

This change was tested with RTL8723BU by Erhard F. I tested it with
RTL8188FU and RTL8192EU.

Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD OSV

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-54036 has been found in Kernel.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade Kernel to 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Kernel CVE-2023-54036" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2023-54036 (Kernel)
Patched: 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Kernel.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Kernel.

🔥 Severity

Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'Kernel' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

1
Identify exposure identify
```
grep -r 'Kernel' . | grep -v node_modules
```
リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で Kernel を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。
2
Apply patch patch
```
Upgrade Kernel to 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3
```
ステージング環境で 5.10.173, 5.15.99, 6.1.16, 6.2.3 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
3
Post-deployment verification verify
```
Confirm patched version is live in production
```
パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

Linux Kernel

[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.5.0"},{"fixed":"5.10.173"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.11.0"},{"fixed":"5.15.99"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.16.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.16"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.2.3"}]}]

Fix status by distribution

Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE

Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54036 linux Fixed in: 5.10.178-1
Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54036 linux-azure