VulnerabilityPublished 24 Jul 2023Updated 7 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-33952: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 · Double Free

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.7 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.7Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 40% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Jul 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	Affected =8	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply official patches and updates from Red Hat as soon as they become available to address CVE-2023-33952.
Conduct an inventory of all RHEL 8 systems running VMware virtual machines or with the vmwgfx driver enabled to identify affected hosts.
Restrict local privileged user access to only trusted personnel and enforce the principle of least privilege to minimize the risk of exploitation.
Monitor system logs and kernel messages for unusual activity or crashes related to the vmwgfx driver that could indicate attempted exploitation.
Employ kernel integrity monitoring tools to detect unauthorized code execution or modifications.
In virtualized environments, ensure VMware tools and related drivers are kept up to date and consider isolating critical workloads to reduce attack surface.
Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on privilege escalation vectors.
Educate system administrators and security teams about this vulnerability and the importance of timely patching and monitoring.

Description

CVE-2023-33952 is a double-free vulnerability in the vmwgfx driver of the Linux kernel used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. It arises from improper validation before freeing vmw_buffer_object objects, allowing a local privileged user to escalate privileges and execute code in kernel context. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.7, indicating medium severity, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability but requiring local privileged access and no user interaction. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. European organizations using RHEL 8 systems with the vmwgfx driver are at risk, especially those in critical infrastructure and government sectors. Mitigation involves applying vendor patches promptly, auditing local user privileges, and monitoring for suspicious kernel activity. Countries with significant Red Hat Enterprise Linux adoption and strategic IT infrastructure, such as Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands, are most likely affected.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-33952 can be substantial, particularly in sectors relying heavily on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, such as government agencies, financial institutions, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure providers. Exploitation allows a local privileged user to escalate privileges to kernel level, potentially leading to full system compromise, unauthorized data access, and disruption of services. This could result in data breaches, operational downtime, and loss of trust. Since the vulnerability requires local privileged access, the risk is higher in environments where multiple users have elevated privileges or where attackers can gain initial footholds through other means. Virtualized environments using VMware with RHEL 8 guests are especially at risk, as the vmwgfx driver is involved. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, as attackers may develop exploits over time. The vulnerability's impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high, making it critical for organizations to address promptly to avoid potential severe consequences.

Summary

CVE-2023-33952 is a vulnerability identified in the vmwgfx driver of the Linux kernel, specifically affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. The issue is a double-free vulnerability related to the handling of vmw_buffer_object objects. The root cause is the lack of validation to confirm the existence of an object before performing free operations, which can lead to freeing the same memory twice. This memory management flaw can be exploited by a local user with elevated privileges to escalate their privileges further and execute arbitrary code within the kernel context. The vulnerability is classified with a CVSS 3.1 score of 6.7, reflecting a medium severity level. The attack vector is local (AV:L), requiring low attack complexity (AC:L) but high privileges (PR:H), with no user interaction needed (UI:N). The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high (C:H/I:H/A:H), meaning successful exploitation can fully compromise the system. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk to systems running RHEL 8 with the affected driver, especially in environments where local user access is possible. The vmwgfx driver is related to VMware graphics support, so systems running as virtual machines on VMware hypervisors or with VMware tools installed are primarily affected. This vulnerability underscores the importance of careful memory management in kernel drivers and the need for timely patching.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Nov 2025, 13:47 UTC

Technical details

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