CVE-2023-54052

What it actually does

The mt7921 wireless driver in the Linux kernel fails to release socket buffers (SKBs) when transmit status (txs) frames are dropped during AMSDU aggregation, leaving SKBs held in the driver and causing temporary network stalls until timeout recovery occurs.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using affected wireless hardware may experience intermittent network interruptions, reducing availability for connected devices and requiring manual intervention or reboots until the driver is updated.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with the ability to influence wireless frame aggregation can trigger the skb leak condition repeatedly, leading to resource exhaustion in the driver; the flaw is local to the kernel driver and does not require remote code execution.

How to fix it

Upgrade affected rancher-agent-2.11 packages to version 2.11.2-r1 on Chainguard and Wolfi distributions; update the Linux kernel to commit 1cd102aaedb277fbe81dd08cd9f5cae951de2bff or later releases containing the mt76 mt7921 fix.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the installed kernel or package version matches or exceeds the listed fixed versions; monitor driver logs for absence of repeated skb hold messages after upgrade and confirm network stability under AMSDU traffic.

Typical attack path

1. Identify systems using mt7921-based wireless hardware
2. Send or induce network traffic that triggers AMSDU aggregation
3. Cause repeated txs drops to accumulate leaked SKBs
4. Observe driver-level network stall until timeout or manual recovery

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for mt7921 txs timeout messages or repeated skb hold warnings; inspect wireless interface statistics for unexpected stalls coinciding with high AMSDU traffic.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching wireless-enabled systems running mt7921 hardware within the next maintenance window
• Inventory all Linux deployments using the mt76 driver family to assess exposure
• Apply the fixed kernel commit or package versions listed for rancher-agent and upstream stable trees