CVE-2023-38200VulnerabilityPublished 24 Jul 2023Updated 20 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-38200: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 1.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 73% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 2026-10-26.

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 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

AI-suggested

1. Monitor Red Hat advisories closely and apply official patches or updates addressing CVE-2023-38200 as soon as they become available. 2. Restrict network access to the Keylime registrar service by implementing firewall rules that limit connections to trusted hosts and networks only. 3. Deploy network-level protections such as rate limiting, connection throttling, and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to detect and block excessive SSL connection attempts targeting the Keylime registrar. 4. Consider isolating the Keylime registrar on dedicated network segments or virtual LANs to reduce exposure to untrusted networks. 5. Regularly audit and monitor SSL connection metrics and logs for unusual spikes or patterns indicative of resource exhaustion attempts. 6. Evaluate alternative or additional remote attestation solutions that provide better resilience against resource exhaustion attacks. 7. Implement robust incident response plans to quickly identify and mitigate denial of service conditions affecting Keylime services. 8. Engage with Red Hat support and security teams for guidance and early access to patches or workarounds.

Description

A flaw was found in Keylime. Due to their blocking nature, the Keylime registrar is subject to a remote denial of service against its SSL connections. This flaw allows an attacker to exhaust all available connections.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-38200 is the potential disruption of system integrity verification services provided by Keylime on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. This can lead to denial of service conditions that prevent the validation of system trustworthiness, which is especially critical in sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. The inability to perform remote attestation could delay detection of compromised systems or prevent automated security responses, increasing overall risk exposure. Additionally, service outages caused by exhausted SSL connections may affect dependent applications and services, leading to operational downtime and potential regulatory compliance issues. Organizations with large-scale deployments of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, particularly those leveraging Keylime for security assurance, may experience significant operational impact. The lack of confidentiality or integrity compromise reduces the risk of data breaches but does not mitigate the severity of availability loss. Given the network-based attack vector and no requirement for authentication, attackers can launch DoS attacks from remote locations, increasing the threat surface for European entities.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Nov 2025, 18:07 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats