CVE-2023-5992VulnerabilityPublished 31 Jan 2024Updated 6 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-5992: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 · Observable Discrepancy

Affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.6 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.6Medium

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

EPSS: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 66% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
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: 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: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 31 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. Apply official patches and updates from Red Hat and OpenSC maintainers as soon as they become available to address the side-channel vulnerability. 2. Restrict network and local access to cryptographic services and OpenSC components to trusted users and systems only, minimizing exposure to potential attackers. 3. Implement monitoring and anomaly detection for unusual cryptographic operation patterns or timing discrepancies that could indicate side-channel attack attempts. 4. Use hardware security modules (HSMs) or cryptographic accelerators that provide built-in side-channel resistance where feasible. 5. Conduct regular security audits and code reviews of cryptographic implementations to ensure adherence to side-channel resistant coding practices. 6. Educate security teams about side-channel risks and incorporate side-channel attack scenarios into incident response planning. 7. Consider deploying additional layers of encryption or multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of potential key leakage. 8. Limit the use of vulnerable cryptographic libraries in sensitive environments until fully patched and verified.

Description

A vulnerability was found in OpenSC where PKCS#1 encryption padding removal is not implemented as side-channel resistant. This issue may result in the potential leak of private data.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-5992 lies in the potential leakage of private cryptographic keys or sensitive data through side-channel attacks. This can undermine the confidentiality and integrity of secure communications, authentication mechanisms, and data protection processes relying on OpenSC and PKCS#1 padding. Critical sectors such as finance, government, telecommunications, and energy that use Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 in their infrastructure could face increased risk of targeted espionage or data breaches. The medium severity and high attack complexity reduce the likelihood of widespread exploitation but do not eliminate risks in high-value environments. Organizations may experience partial service disruptions or data integrity issues if attackers exploit the vulnerability to manipulate cryptographic operations. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate threat but proactive mitigation is essential to prevent future attacks, especially given the strategic importance of cryptographic security in European regulatory frameworks like GDPR and NIS Directive.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 10 Nov 2025, 22:48 UTC

Technical details

References

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