CVE-2023-53715
Published Oct 22, 2025
Modified Apr 15, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: cfg80211: Pass the PMK in binary instead of hex Apparently the hex passphrase mechanism does not work on newer chips/firmware (e.g. BCM4387). It seems there was a simple way of passing it in binary all along, so use that and avoid the hexification. OpenBSD has been doing it like this from the beginning, so this should work on all chips. Also clear the structure before setting the PMK. This was leaking uninitialized stack contents to the device.
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References
Other References
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1687845eb8f37360a9ee849a3587ab659b090773
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2bc34facb90ceeff6f8c17d2006575a6d07c3825
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fa3a5226b05e0a797c68b9609dcebe0cd236b27
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e8dc0e5c7636efaadbd7e488acd34b4291c0431
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56c7e9c39bd54fd753c0c4b1ed10278cbd3a5f02
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89b89e52153fda2733562776c7c9d9d3ebf8dd6d
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e242c66f7ecfe8f5b6eb308f4ea464fd8589c866
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8a6c53ff1d91acd5a20eb627edbffd816eb9a4e
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-53715? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: brcmfmac: cfg80211: Pass the PMK in binary instead of hex
Apparently the hex passphrase mechanism does not work on newer
chips/firmware (e.g. BCM4387). It seems there was a simple way of
passing it in binary all along, so use that and avoid the hexification.
OpenBSD has been doing it like this from the beginning, so this should
work on all chips.
Also clear the structure before setting the PMK. This was leaking
uninitialized stack contents to the device.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-53715? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.