dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-32233

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.315 / 4.19.283 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Public exploit Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel through 6.3.1, a use-after-free in Netfilter nf_tables when processing batch requests can be abused to perform arbitrary read and write operations on kernel memory. Unprivileged local users can obtain root privileges. This occurs because anonymous sets are mishandled.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 3.13, < 4.14.315>= 4.15, < 4.19.283>= 4.20, < 5.4.243>= 5.5, < 5.10.180>= 5.11, < 5.15.111>= 5.16, < 6.1.28>= 6.2, < 6.2.15>= 6.3, < 6.3.2
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0
Hci Baseboard Management ControllerApplication
Affected:= h300s= h410c= h410s= h500s= h700s

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

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

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 4.14.315 / 4.19.283 / 5.4.243 or later
Fixed in 4.14.3154.19.2835.4.243
Vendor patch packetstormsecurity.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 4.14.315 or later (4.19.x branch), 5.4.243 or later, 5.10.180 or later, or 6.3.1 or later depending on your distribution's available kernel streams

  1. 1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. 2. Check if your distribution provides a patched kernel for your version (e.g., for RHEL/CentOS use 'yum update kernel' or 'dnf update kernel')
  3. 3. For Enterprise Linux 7/8/9, apply all available security updates via your package manager
  4. 4. For the HCI Baseboard Management Controller devices (h300s, h410c, h410s, h500s), contact the vendor for firmware updates
  5. 5. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  6. 6. Verify the kernel version after reboot using 'uname -a' and confirm it is one of the fixed versions: 4.14.315+, 4.19.283+, 5.4.243+, 5.10.180+, or 6.3.1+
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require reboots and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or older drivers; test in staging first

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-32233 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-32233 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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