CVE-2023-54036

wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU

published December 24, 2025

CVSS
—
EPSS
0%
Percentile
7.8
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

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

wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU

The wifi + bluetooth combo chip RTL8723BU can leak memory (especially?)

when it's connected to a bluetooth audio device. The busy bluetooth

traffic generates lots of C2H (card to host) messages, which are not

freed correctly.

To fix this, move the dev_kfree_skb() call in rtl8xxxu_c2hcmd_callback()

inside the loop where skb_dequeue() is called.

The RTL8192EU leaks memory because the C2H messages are added to the

queue and left there forever. (This was fine in the past because it

probably wasn't sending any C2H messages until commit e542e66b7c2e

("wifi: rtl8xxxu: gen2: Turn on the rate control"). Since that commit

it sends a C2H message when the TX rate changes.)

To fix this, delete the check for rf_paths > 1 and the goto. Let the

function process the C2H messages from RTL8192EU like the ones from

the other chips.

Theoretically the RTL8188FU could also leak like RTL8723BU, but it

most likely doesn't send C2H messages frequently enough.

This change was tested with RTL8723BU by Erhard F. I tested it with

RTL8188FU and RTL8192EU.

The record
Technical detail
CVSS
Not scored
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.00186 · 7.8th percentile
Published
2025-12-24T10:56Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 24 DEC 10:56Z
    wifi: rtl8xxxu: Fix memory leaks with RTL8723BU, RTL8192EU
    cvelistv5