CVE-2023-39194VulnerabilityPublished 9 Oct 2023Updated 6 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-39194: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.2 Low.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.2Low

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

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 35% 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:C/C:L/I:N/A:N

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

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: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Oct 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 2026-10-25.

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

Organizations should monitor Red Hat security advisories closely and apply official patches promptly once released. Until patches are available, restricting CAP_NET_ADMIN capability to only trusted administrators and processes is crucial to limit exploitation risk. Employing the principle of least privilege by minimizing the number of users and services with network administration rights can reduce exposure. Additionally, auditing and monitoring privileged user activities can help detect suspicious behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and isolation of critical systems running RHEL 8 can further contain potential breaches. If possible, disabling or limiting use of the XFRM subsystem or IPsec features not in use may reduce the attack surface. Regular kernel updates and system hardening practices should be maintained to mitigate other potential vulnerabilities. Finally, organizations should consider deploying runtime security tools capable of detecting anomalous kernel memory access patterns.

Description

A flaw was found in the XFRM subsystem in the Linux kernel. The specific flaw exists within the processing of state filters, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. This flaw allows a local privileged (CAP_NET_ADMIN) attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds read, potentially leading to an information disclosure.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-39194 is potential information disclosure from kernel memory to a local privileged attacker. This could lead to leakage of sensitive information such as cryptographic keys, network state, or other kernel data, which might be leveraged for further attacks or privilege escalation. However, since exploitation requires CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges, the threat is limited to scenarios where an attacker has already gained significant access or control over the system. This reduces the likelihood of widespread impact but raises concerns in environments with multiple administrators or where privilege separation is weak. Organizations relying on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 for critical infrastructure, especially those utilizing IPsec or other XFRM-based networking features, should be vigilant. The vulnerability does not affect system availability or integrity, so operational disruption is unlikely. Nevertheless, information disclosure in sensitive environments such as government, finance, or critical infrastructure could have regulatory and reputational consequences under European data protection laws.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Nov 2025, 20:37 UTC

Technical details

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