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Bluetooth Low Energy Software Development KitApplication · Silabs

CVE-2023-2683

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A memory leak in the EFR32 Bluetooth LE stack 5.1.0 through 5.1.1 allows an attacker to send an invalid pairing message and cause future legitimate connection attempts to fail. A reset of the device immediately clears the error.

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 · high confidence

A memory leak exists in the EFR32 Bluetooth LE stack versions 5.1.0 through 5.1.1 where sending an invalid pairing message causes memory to not be properly deallocated, eventually exhausting memory and causing subsequent legitimate Bluetooth LE connection attempts to fail. A device reset clears the leaked memory and restores normal operation.

MitigationImmediate mitigation involves power-cycling or resetting the device to clear the memory leak. Long-term remediation requires updating to a patched version of the EFR32 Bluetooth LE stack from Silicon Labs that properly handles and frees memory when processing invalid pairing messages.

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
Bluetooth Low Energy Software Development KitApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, <= 5.1.1

CVSS 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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check BLE SDK version
    Query the EFR32 firmware for its Bluetooth LE SDK version using the device's diagnostic interface, bootloader version string, or build metadata. Common methods include AT+VERSION commands, reading NVM storage, or checking firmware build information.
    Affected if The reported SDK version is >= 5.0.0 and <= 5.1.1
  2. Confirm BLE pairing is enabled
    Inspect the BLE stack configuration to verify that Bluetooth LE pairing/SSP is enabled in the runtime settings or build configuration.
    Affected if BLE pairing functionality is enabled on the device
  3. Check for connection failures
    Monitor BLE connection logs or status indicators for recent failed legitimate connection attempts, particularly after the device has been running for some time.
    Affected if Legitimate BLE connection attempts are failing without other obvious causes
  4. Check for memory exhaustion
    If accessible via debug interface, query available heap/buffer memory or check for out-of-memory errors in system logs.
    Affected if Available memory is depleted or out-of-memory errors are logged
  5. Verify reset clears the issue
    Power-cycle or reset the device and observe whether BLE connections resume normal operation immediately after restart.
    Affected if BLE functionality returns to normal after a reset but degrades again over time with continued use

The device is affected if it runs a BLE SDK version between 5.0.0 and 5.1.1, has pairing enabled, and exhibits BLE connection failures that resolve temporarily after device reset.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.1.1
Interim mitigation

Immediate mitigation involves power-cycling or resetting the device to clear the memory leak. Long-term remediation requires updating to a patched version of the EFR32 Bluetooth LE stack from Silicon Labs that properly handles and frees memory when processing invalid pairing messages.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Silicon Labs EFR32 Bluetooth LE SDK version > 5.1.1 (latest stable release)

  1. 1. Identify all EFR32 devices running Bluetooth Low Energy SDK versions 5.0.0 through 5.1.1 in your environment
  2. 2. Download the latest EFR32 Bluetooth LE SDK version from Silicon Labs (version > 5.1.1)
  3. 3. Review the SDK release notes for the fixed version to confirm the memory leak vulnerability is addressed
  4. 4. Update the Bluetooth LE stack on all affected EFR32 devices to the fixed SDK version
  5. 5. After updating, test Bluetooth LE pairing and connection functionality to confirm the fix works
  6. 6. If upgrading is not immediately possible, device reset can temporarily clear the memory leak error as a workaround
Caveat Review SDK release notes for any API changes or migration requirements between 5.x versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bluetooth Low Energy Software Development Kit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-2683 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data