CVE-2023-41325
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 · uneditedOP-TEE is a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) designed as companion to a non-secure Linux kernel running on Arm; Cortex-A cores using the TrustZone technology. Starting in version 3.20 and prior to version 3.22, `shdr_verify_signature` can make a double free. `shdr_verify_signature` used to verify a TA binary before it is loaded. To verify a signature of it, allocate a memory for RSA key. RSA key allocate function (`sw_crypto_acipher_alloc_rsa_public_key`) will try to allocate a memory (which is optee’s heap memory). RSA key is consist of exponent and modulus (represent as variable `e`, `n`) and it allocation is not atomic way, so it may succeed in `e` but fail in `n`. In this case sw_crypto_acipher_alloc_rsa_public_key` will free on `e` and return as it is failed but variable ‘e’ is remained as already freed memory address . `shdr_verify_signature` will free again that memory (which is `e`) even it is freed when it failed allocate RSA key. A patch is available in version 3.22. No known workarounds are available.
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 analysisThe same block of memory is freed twice, corrupting the allocator's bookkeeping in ways an attacker can shape toward code execution. It usually stems from tangled ownership of a pointer. The fix is clear, single ownership of each allocation and clearing pointers once they are freed.
General guidance for the double 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>= 3.20.0, < 3.22.0= 3.22.0CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 · scoped3.22.0
OP-TEE >= 3.22.0
- Identify the current OP-TEE version in use (likely 3.20.0 or 3.21.x)
- Obtain OP-TEE version 3.22.0 or later from the official repository at https://github.com/OP-TEE/optee_os
- Upgrade OP-TEE to version 3.22.0 or later by replacing the existing optee_os components
- Rebuild any dependent trusted applications (TAs) if necessary
- Redeploy the updated OP-TEE image to the target devices
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-41325 — 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-2023-41325 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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