linux-cve-announce - CVE-2023-54300: wifi: ath9k: avoid referencing uninit memory in ath9k_wmi_ctrl

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Message-ID: <2025123032-CVE-2023-54300-5746@gregkh>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:23:53 +0100
From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>
To: linux-cve-announce@...r.kernel.org
Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...nel.org>
Subject: CVE-2023-54300: wifi: ath9k: avoid referencing uninit memory in ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx

From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...nel.org>

Description
===========

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

wifi: ath9k: avoid referencing uninit memory in ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx

For the reasons also described in commit b383e8abed41 ("wifi: ath9k: avoid
uninit memory read in ath9k_htc_rx_msg()"), ath9k_htc_rx_msg() should
validate pkt_len before accessing the SKB.

For example, the obtained SKB may have been badly constructed with
pkt_len = 8. In this case, the SKB can only contain a valid htc_frame_hdr
but after being processed in ath9k_htc_rx_msg() and passed to
ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx() endpoint RX handler, it is expected to have a WMI
command header which should be located inside its data payload.

Implement sanity checking inside ath9k_wmi_ctrl_rx(). Otherwise, uninit
memory can be referenced.

Tested on Qualcomm Atheros Communications AR9271 802.11n .

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

The Linux kernel CVE team has assigned CVE-2023-54300 to this issue.


Affected and fixed versions
===========================

	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 4.14.322 with commit 0bc12e41af4e3ae1f0efecc377f0514459df0707
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 4.19.291 with commit 28259ce4f1f1f9ab37fa817756c89098213d2fc0
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 5.4.251 with commit 90e3c10177573b8662ac9858abd9bf731d5d98e0
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 5.10.188 with commit 250efb4d3f5b32a115ea6bf25437ba44a1b3c04f
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 5.15.121 with commit ad5425e70789c29b93acafb5bb4629e4eb908296
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 6.1.39 with commit d1c2ff2bd84c3692c9df267a2b991ce92bfca8ef
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 6.3.13 with commit 8ed572e52714593b209e3aa352406aff84481179
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 6.4.4 with commit 75acec91aeaa07375cd5f418069e61b16d39bbad
	Issue introduced in 2.6.35 with commit fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08 and fixed in 6.5 with commit f24292e827088bba8de7158501ac25a59b064953

Please see https://www.kernel.org for a full list of currently supported
kernel versions by the kernel community.

Unaffected versions might change over time as fixes are backported to
older supported kernel versions.  The official CVE entry at
	https://cve.org/CVERecord/?id=CVE-2023-54300
will be updated if fixes are backported, please check that for the most
up to date information about this issue.


Affected files
==============

The file(s) affected by this issue are:
	drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/wmi.c


Mitigation
==========

The Linux kernel CVE team recommends that you update to the latest
stable kernel version for this, and many other bugfixes.  Individual
changes are never tested alone, but rather are part of a larger kernel
release.  Cherry-picking individual commits is not recommended or
supported by the Linux kernel community at all.  If however, updating to
the latest release is impossible, the individual changes to resolve this
issue can be found at these commits:
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0bc12e41af4e3ae1f0efecc377f0514459df0707
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28259ce4f1f1f9ab37fa817756c89098213d2fc0
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90e3c10177573b8662ac9858abd9bf731d5d98e0
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/250efb4d3f5b32a115ea6bf25437ba44a1b3c04f
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ad5425e70789c29b93acafb5bb4629e4eb908296
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1c2ff2bd84c3692c9df267a2b991ce92bfca8ef
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ed572e52714593b209e3aa352406aff84481179
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75acec91aeaa07375cd5f418069e61b16d39bbad
	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f24292e827088bba8de7158501ac25a59b064953