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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-4273

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A flaw was found in the exFAT driver of the Linux kernel. The vulnerability exists in the implementation of the file name reconstruction function, which is responsible for reading file name entries from a directory index and merging file name parts belonging to one file into a single long file name. Since the file name characters are copied into a stack variable, a local privileged attacker could use this flaw to overflow the kernel stack.

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-121

Data overflows a fixed-size buffer allocated on the stack, overwriting adjacent stack memory — including saved return addresses — which is the classic route to redirecting execution into attacker-supplied code. Crafted input is all it takes. Remediation is strict length checks, safe bounded string and memory functions, and modern stack-protection mitigations.

General guidance for the stack-based buffer overflow 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:< 6.4= 6.5
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 37= 38
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0= 12.0
H300s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H500s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H700s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H410s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.4 or later
Fixed in 6.4
Vendor patch bugzilla.redhat.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.6 or later; Fedora 37/38 vendor kernel update; RHEL 9.0 vendor update; Debian 11/12 vendor update

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. 2. For systems running Linux Kernel < 6.4 or = 6.5, upgrade to kernel version 6.6 or later
  3. 3. For Fedora 37 and 38 systems, apply vendor updates: 'dnf update kernel'
  4. 4. For RHEL 9.0 and derivatives, apply vendor updates: 'yum update kernel'
  5. 5. For Debian 11 and 12, apply vendor updates: 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade linux-image'
  6. 6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. 7. Verify the new kernel version is running: 'uname -r'
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting and could introduce compatibility issues with third-party kernel modules; ensure dependent modules are rebuilt for the new kernel version

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-4273 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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