# CVE-2023-53721: wifi: ath12k: Fix a NULL pointer dereference in ath12k_mac_op_hw_scan()

> A NULL pointer dereference in the ath12k WiFi driver can cause a system crash, requiring a kernel patch to prevent denial of service.

- **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-2023-53721, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53721, GHSA-hg4j-jx55-3m9p, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53721, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2023-53721, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-53721, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53721

## What is CVE-2023-53721?

CVE-2023-53721 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: ath12k: Fix a NULL pointer dereference in ath12k_mac_op_hw_scan()

In ath12k_mac_op_hw_scan(), the return value of kzalloc() is directly
used in memcpy(), which may lead to a NULL pointer dereference on
failure of kzalloc().

Fix this bug by adding a check of arg.extraie.ptr.

Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0-03427-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-1.15378.4

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53721?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53721?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53721 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53721 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53721 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53721 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-2023-53721 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-2023-53721/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53721/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53721
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53721
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53721

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53721/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.