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FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2023-4233

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 flaw was found in ofono, an Open Source Telephony on Linux. A stack overflow bug is triggered within the sms_decode_address_field() function during the SMS PDU decoding. It is assumed that the attack scenario is accessible from a compromised modem, a malicious base station, or just SMS.

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 confidence

A stack overflow vulnerability exists in ofono's sms_decode_address_field() function during SMS PDU decoding. The function fails to properly validate bounds when processing address fields from incoming SMS messages, allowing a malicious modem, base station, or SMS message to overflow the stack and potentially achieve code execution.

MitigationApply the ofono security patch to fix the bounds checking in sms_decode_address_field(). Until patched, consider filtering SMS inputs at a perimeter device or monitoring for crash indicators in the ofono process.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 38= 39= 40
OfonoApplication
Affected:< 2.1

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
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

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

  1. Verify ofono is installed
    Run: rpm -q ofono (Fedora) or dpkg -l ofono (Debian-based) or check your package manager for the ofono package
    Affected if ofono package is not found, then not affected by this CVE
  2. Check installed ofono version
    Run: rpm -q --qf '%{VERSION}' ofono (Fedora) or ofono --version if available, or check /usr/lib/systemd/system/ofono.service for version hints
    Affected if Version is less than 2.1 (e.g., 2.0.x, 1.x) or if version cannot be determined and the package is present
  3. Verify ofono service is running
    Run: systemctl status ofono or ps aux | grep ofonod
    Affected if The ofono daemon is actively running and processing SMS inputs
  4. Check for ofono modem interfaces
    Run: dbus-send --system --dest=org.ofono /ril_0 org.ofono.Modem.GetProperties (or check /var/lib/ofono for modem registration files)
    Affected if One or more modems are registered and ofono is actively handling cellular connections where SMS could be received
  5. Inspect ofono logs for crashes
    Run: journalctl -u ofono -n 100 --no-pager or check /var/log/ofono/log for segfault, stack overflow, or abort signals
    Affected if Recent crashes or aborts in the ofono process related to SMS handling are found

Your environment is affected if ofono version is less than 2.1 AND the service is running with active modem interfaces that can receive SMS messages.

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 2.1 or later
Fixed in 2.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the ofono security patch to fix the bounds checking in sms_decode_address_field(). Until patched, consider filtering SMS inputs at a perimeter device or monitoring for crash indicators in the ofono process.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ofono version 2.1 or later

  1. Identify the ofono package version currently installed using: dnf list installed | grep ofono
  2. Update the ofono package to version 2.1 or later by running: sudo dnf update ofono
  3. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 2.1: rpm -q ofono
  4. Restart any services that depend on ofono (e.g., modem services) to ensure the patched version is loaded
  5. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by checking the package changelog: rpmq -q --changelog ofono | grep -i CVE-2023-4233
Caveat Minor - updating ofono may require restarting modem-related services; ensure appropriate maintenance window

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

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-4233 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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