CVE-2023-54053
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: iwlwifi: pcie: fix possible NULL pointer dereference
It is possible that iwl_pci_probe() will fail and free the trans, then afterwards iwl_pci_remove() will be called and crash by trying to access trans which is already freed, fix it.
iwlwifi 0000:01:00.0: Detected crf-id 0xa5a5a5a2, cnv-id 0xa5a5a5a2 wfpm id 0xa5a5a5a2 iwlwifi 0000:01:00.0: Can't find a correct rfid for crf id 0x5a2 ... BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 ... RIP: 0010:iwl_pci_remove+0x12/0x30 [iwlwifi] pci_device_remove+0x3e/0xb0 device_release_driver_internal+0x103/0x1f0 driver_detach+0x4c/0x90 bus_remove_driver+0x5c/0xd0 driver_unregister+0x31/0x50 pci_unregister_driver+0x40/0x90 iwl_pci_unregister_driver+0x15/0x20 [iwlwifi] __exit_compat+0x9/0x98 [iwlwifi] __x64_sys_delete_module+0x147/0x260
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
A NULL pointer dereference in iwlwifi PCIe driver occurs when iwl_pci_probe() fails and frees trans before iwl_pci_remove() accesses it.
In the Linux kernel's iwlwifi driver, a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the PCIe transport layer. The root cause is that iwl_pci_probe() can fail and free the trans structure, but subsequently iwl_pci_remove() may be called and attempt to access the already freed pointer, leading to a crash.
Exploitation
An attacker would need the ability to trigger driver probe failure, such as by presenting a non-functional device or through malicious PCIe configuration. No special privileges are required beyond having the iwlwifi driver loaded; the vulnerability manifests during normal device removal after a probe failure.
Impact
A successful trigger results in a kernel NULL pointer dereference, causing a system crash (denial of service) via a BUG. The crash occurs in iwl_pci_remove when trying to dereference the freed trans pointer.
Mitigation
The fix has been committed to the Linux kernel stable branch (commit 0fc0d287c1e7dcb39a3b9bb0f8679cd68c2156c7 and dcd23aa6cc0ded7950b60ce1badb80b84045c6c0) [1][2]. Users should apply kernel updates containing these patches.
AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2Patches
6f6f2d16c77f90fc0d287c1e77545f21eee130f9a1bcb9401dcd23aa6cc0db655b9a9f846Vulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
6- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f9a1bcb94016d3a3c455a77b01f6bb06e15f6ebnvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fc0d287c1e7dcb39a3b9bb0f8679cd68c2156c7nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7545f21eee1356ec98581125c4dba9c4c0cc7397nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b655b9a9f8467684cfa8906713d33b71ea8c8f54nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcd23aa6cc0ded7950b60ce1badb80b84045c6c0nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6f2d16c77f936041b8ac495fceabded4ec6c83cnvd
News mentions
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