CVE-2023-2593 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel's TCP connection handling subsystem. The flaw arises from a loop construct with an unreachable exit condition, effectively creating an infinite loop scenario during the processing of new TCP connections. This infinite loop prevents the release of allocated memory after its intended lifetime, causing resource exhaustion. The vulnerability can be triggered remotely by an unauthenticated attacker who sends crafted TCP connection requests, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition by depleting kernel memory and CPU resources. The CVSS v3.1 score of 5.9 reflects a medium severity, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N), and high impact on availability (A:H). The vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions prior to the patch and is particularly concerning for servers and network devices running Linux that handle large volumes of TCP connections. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild, the potential for DoS attacks makes it a significant concern for operational continuity. The vulnerability was reserved in May 2023 and published in July 2025, with Red Hat as the assigner, but no official patch links are currently provided, indicating that affected organizations should monitor vendor advisories closely. The infinite loop and memory leak combination can degrade system performance and cause crashes, impacting service availability.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-2593 is the risk of denial of service attacks against Linux-based servers and network infrastructure. This can lead to service outages, degraded performance, and potential disruption of critical business operations, especially in sectors like finance, telecommunications, government, and cloud service providers that heavily rely on Linux systems. The unavailability of services can affect customer trust, regulatory compliance (such as GDPR mandates on service continuity), and operational efficiency. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely, it increases the attack surface for threat actors aiming to disrupt services. The medium severity score reflects that while confidentiality and integrity are not compromised, the availability impact can be significant, particularly for high-traffic servers. Organizations with large-scale Linux deployments or those exposed to public networks are at higher risk. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate future exploitation possibilities. The infinite loop can also complicate incident response and recovery due to resource exhaustion.

1. Monitor vendor advisories and apply official Linux kernel patches promptly once released to address CVE-2023-2593. 2. Implement network-level rate limiting and connection throttling to reduce the risk of resource exhaustion from excessive TCP connection attempts. 3. Deploy intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures or heuristics to detect anomalous TCP connection patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. 4. Harden network perimeter defenses by restricting unnecessary inbound TCP traffic and employing firewall rules to limit exposure of vulnerable services. 5. Use kernel hardening features and resource limits (e.g., cgroups) to contain the impact of potential infinite loops and memory leaks. 6. Conduct regular system and network monitoring to identify unusual CPU or memory usage spikes that may indicate exploitation attempts. 7. Prepare incident response plans that include steps for mitigating DoS conditions caused by kernel resource exhaustion. 8. Consider deploying redundant systems and failover mechanisms to maintain service availability during attack scenarios. 9. Engage with Linux distribution maintainers and security communities to stay informed about patch availability and best practices.