# CVE-2023-53715: wifi: brcmfmac: cfg80211: Pass the PMK in binary instead of hex

> A vulnerability in the Linux kernel brcmfmac WiFi driver leaks uninitialized stack contents to the device, potentially exposing sensitive memory data.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53715, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53715, GHSA-rw22-c852-p7j5, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53715

## What is CVE-2023-53715?

CVE-2023-53715 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 Oct 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: brcmfmac: cfg80211: Pass the PMK in binary instead of hex

Apparently the hex passphrase mechanism does not work on newer
chips/firmware (e.g. BCM4387). It seems there was a simple way of
passing it in binary all along, so use that and avoid the hexification.

OpenBSD has been doing it like this from the beginning, so this should
work on all chips.

Also clear the structure before setting the PMK. This was leaking
uninitialized stack contents to the device.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53715?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53715?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53715 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53715 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53715 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53715 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 Oct 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-2023-53715 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2023-53715/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53715/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53715
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53715
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53715

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53715/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.