VulnerabilityPublished 16 Jan 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-45232: TianoCore edk2 · Infinite Loop

Affects TianoCore edk2Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 2.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 81% 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 16 Jan 2024
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 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 vendor advisories closely for official patches or firmware updates addressing CVE-2023-45232 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Implement network-level filtering to block or restrict IPv6 Destination Options headers, especially those containing unknown or suspicious options, using firewalls or intrusion prevention systems. 3. Disable IPv6 on systems and network segments where it is not required to reduce the attack surface. 4. Employ network segmentation to isolate critical systems and limit exposure to potentially malicious IPv6 traffic. 5. Conduct firmware inventory and identify devices using edk2-stable202308 or related vulnerable versions to prioritize remediation. 6. Develop and test recovery procedures for firmware-level DoS scenarios to minimize downtime in case of exploitation. 7. Collaborate with hardware vendors to obtain updated firmware images and guidance on secure configuration. 8. Enhance monitoring for unusual network traffic patterns indicative of attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

Description

EDK2's Network Package is susceptible to an infinite loop vulnerability when parsing unknown options in the Destination Options header of IPv6. This vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to gain unauthorized access and potentially lead to a loss of Availability.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-45232 is a denial-of-service condition at the firmware level, which can cause systems to become unresponsive or fail to boot. This can disrupt business operations, especially in sectors relying on high availability such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure. Since edk2 is widely used as a base for UEFI firmware in many hardware platforms, organizations using affected hardware could experience outages or require costly manual recovery procedures. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means attackers could target exposed IPv6-enabled devices without needing physical access or credentials. This is particularly concerning for data centers, cloud providers, and enterprises with IPv6 deployments. Additionally, disruption at the firmware level can complicate incident response and recovery, as the affected systems may not boot normally or allow standard remediation. The lack of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the potential impact on availability and operational continuity is high.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Nov 2025, 01:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-835

Technical details

References

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