CVE-2023-53153: Linux Kernel

High severity, CVSS 7.8. EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: cfg80211: Fix use after free for wext Key information in wext.connect is not reset on (re)connect and can hold data from a previous connection. Reset key data to avoid that drivers or mac80211 incorrectly detect a WEP connection request and access the freed or already reused memory. Additionally optimize cfg80211_sme_connect() and avoid an useless schedule of conn_work.

Affected products

• Linux Linux Kernel: from 2.6.32, before 4.14.308 (fixed in 4.14.308); from 4.15, before 4.19.276 (fixed in 4.19.276); from 4.20, before 5.4.235 (fixed in 5.4.235); from 5.5, before 5.10.173 (fixed in 5.10.173); from 5.11, before 5.15.99 (fixed in 5.15.99); from 5.16, before 6.1.16 (fixed in 6.1.16); …

Published 2025-09-15. Last modified 2026-06-17.