# CVE-2023-53185: wifi: ath9k: don't allow to overwrite ENDPOINT0 attributes

> A malicious USB device can overwrite reserved endpoint attributes in the ath9k driver, potentially leading to privilege escalation or code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53185, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53185, GHSA-mj4m-3482-q62h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53185

## What is CVE-2023-53185?

CVE-2023-53185 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

wifi: ath9k: don't allow to overwrite ENDPOINT0 attributes

A bad USB device is able to construct a service connection response
message with target endpoint being ENDPOINT0 which is reserved for
HTC_CTRL_RSVD_SVC and should not be modified to be used for any other
services.

Reject such service connection responses.

Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53185?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53185?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53185 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53185 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53185 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 15 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2023-53185/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53185/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53185
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53185
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53185

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53185/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.