CVE-2023-54016 wifi: ath12k: Fix memory leak in rx_desc and tx_desc
A memory leak in the ath12k Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to exhaust system memory, causing denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-54016?
CVE-2023-54016 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 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 memory leak in rx_desc and tx_desc
Currently when ath12k_dp_cc_desc_init() is called we allocate memory to rx_descs and tx_descs. In ath12k_dp_cc_cleanup(), during descriptor cleanup rx_descs and tx_descs memory is not freed.
This is cause of memory leak. These allocated memory should be freed in ath12k_dp_cc_cleanup.
In ath12k_dp_cc_desc_init(), we can save base address of rx_descs and tx_descs. In ath12k_dp_cc_cleanup(), we can free rx_descs and tx_descs memory using their base address.
Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.0.1-00029-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54016?
How do I fix CVE-2023-54016?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-54016 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54016 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2023-54016, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54016, GHSA-35gj-2h6h-27p5, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2023-54016, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54016.