SnapdApplication · Canonical
CVE-2023-1523
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUsing the TIOCLINUX ioctl request, a malicious snap could inject contents into the input of the controlling terminal which could allow it to cause arbitrary commands to be executed outside of the snap sandbox after the snap exits. Graphical terminal emulators like xterm, gnome-terminal and others are not affected - this can only be exploited when snaps are run on a virtual console.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA vulnerability in the snap sandbox allows malicious snaps to use the TIOCLINUX ioctl request to inject content into the controlling terminal's input buffer. After the snap terminates, the injected content is executed as arbitrary commands outside the snap sandbox, achieving a sandbox escape. This only affects virtual console environments, not graphical terminal emulators.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
SnapdApplication
< 2.59.5
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 16.04= 18.04= 20.04= 22.04= 22.10= 23.04CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check snapd versionRun 'snapd --version' or 'snap version' to see the installed snapd versionAffected if snapd version is less than 2.59.5
-
Identify Ubuntu releaseRun 'lsb_release -r' or check /etc/os-release to determine the Ubuntu versionAffected if Ubuntu version is 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, 22.10, or 23.04
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Determine console environmentRun 'tty' to see which tty device you are on; virtual consoles are /dev/tty1 through /dev/tty6Affected if Running directly on a virtual console (e.g., /dev/tty1) rather than in a graphical terminal emulator (e.g., /dev/pts/0)
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Verify snaps are installedRun 'snap list' to see if any snaps are installed on the systemAffected if One or more snaps are installed and the conditions above are met
You are affected if snapd version is below 2.59.5 on a vulnerable Ubuntu release (16.04-23.04) while running in a virtual console environment with snaps installed.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped2.59.5
Avoid running snaps on virtual consoles until a patch is available from snapd; graphical terminal emulators are not affected by this issue.
snapd >= 2.59.5
- Upgrade snapd to version 2.59.5 or later
- On Ubuntu systems, run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install snapd
- Alternatively, if snapd is installed as a snap, run: sudo snap refresh snapd
- After upgrading, verify the version with: snapd --version or snap version
- Note: This vulnerability only affects virtual consoles, not graphical terminal emulators like xterm or gnome-terminal
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Snapd
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-1523 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-1523 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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