# CVE-2023-52161: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass Wi-Fi authentication in iNet wireless daemon by skipping handshake steps, gaining unauthorized network access.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** AZL-43933, AZL-44235, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52161, DLA-3738-1, DSA-5631-1, GHSA-22f2-7248-9pxp, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52161

## What is CVE-2023-52161?

CVE-2023-52161 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Feb 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Access Point functionality in eapol_auth_key_handle in eapol.c in iNet wireless daemon (IWD) before 2.14 allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to a protected Wi-Fi network. An attacker can complete the EAPOL handshake by skipping Msg2/4 and instead sending Msg4/4 with an all-zero key.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52161?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Intel Inet Wireless Daemon.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52161?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-52161 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2020-17497](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-17497/): Other in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2020-8689](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8689/): Denial of service in Intel(R) Wireless for Open Source Advisory (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52161 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52161 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Feb 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52161/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52161/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52161
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52161
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52161

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52161/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.