CVE-2023-53532: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2023-53532 is a vulnerability discovered in the Linux kernel affecting the ath11k WiFi driver's firmware resource deinitialization process. The issue was disclosed on October 1, 2025, and primarily affects systems using AHB chipsets without fixed memory regions (NVD).

The vulnerability exists in the ath11kahbfwresourcesinit() function where IOMMU domain mapping is performed only for chipsets with fixed firmware memory and without TrustZone support. During deinitialization, the code attempts to unmap memory that was not mapped during initialization for non-fixed firmware memory chipsets, leading to a NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0x0000000000000008. The issue has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) (Red Hat).

When exploited, this vulnerability can cause a kernel crash during system reboot or module removal (rmmod) operations on affected systems. This primarily affects systems using AHB chipsets without fixed memory regions, potentially leading to system instability and denial of service (NVD).

The issue has been fixed by adding a condition check on firmware fixed memory hwparam, similar to the counter initialization function. The fix has been tested on IPQ8074 hw2.0 AHB WLAN.HK.2.7.0.1-01744-QCAHKSWPLSILICONZ-1 (NVD).