CVE-2023-4244 (GCVE-0-2023-4244)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2023-09-06 13:53 – Updated: 2026-07-28 14:43
VLAI
Title
Use-after-free in Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component
Summary
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. Due to a race condition between nf_tables netlink control plane transaction and nft_set element garbage collection, it is possible to underflow the reference counter causing a use-after-free vulnerability. We recommend upgrading past commit 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
Assigner
Google CNA under the Google root
CNA scorecard B 77/100 over 39 records in the last 180 days details
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Kernel Affected: 0.0 , < 4.19.316 (custom)
Affected: 4.20 , < 5.4.262 (custom)
Affected: 5.5 , < 5.10.198 (custom)
Affected: 5.11 , < 5.15.134 (custom)
Affected: 5.16 , < 6.1.56 (custom)
Affected: 6.2 , < 6.4.11 (custom)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Date Public
2023-08-10 17:47
Credits
Bien Pham from Team Orca of Sea Security Team
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2024-08-02T07:24:03.697Z",
          "orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
          "shortName": "CVE"
        },
        "references": [
          {
            "tags": [
              "patch",
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://kernel.dance/3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00027.html"
          },
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html"
          }
        ],
        "title": "CVE Program Container"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "packageName": "kernel",
          "product": "Kernel",
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "4.19.316",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0.0",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.4.262",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "4.20",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.10.198",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.5",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.15.134",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.11",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "6.1.56",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.16",
              "versionType": "custom"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "6.4.11",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "6.2",
              "versionType": "custom"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "finder",
          "user": "00000000-0000-4000-9000-000000000000",
          "value": "Bien Pham from Team Orca of Sea Security Team"
        }
      ],
      "datePublic": "2023-08-10T17:47:00.000Z",
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "supportingMedia": [
            {
              "base64": false,
              "type": "text/html",
              "value": "\u003cp\u003eA use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel\u0027s netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDue to a race condition between nf_tables netlink control plane transaction and nft_set element garbage collection, it is possible to underflow the reference counter causing a use-after-free vulnerability.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe recommend upgrading past commit 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8.\u003c/p\u003e"
            }
          ],
          "value": "A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel\u0027s netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.\n\n\n\nDue to a race condition between nf_tables netlink control plane transaction and nft_set element garbage collection, it is possible to underflow the reference counter causing a use-after-free vulnerability.\n\n\n\nWe recommend upgrading past commit 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8."
        }
      ],
      "impacts": [
        {
          "capecId": "CAPEC-233",
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "CAPEC-233 Privilege Escalation"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "format": "CVSS",
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "GENERAL"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-416",
              "description": "CWE-416 Use After Free",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-07-28T14:43:13.218Z",
        "orgId": "14ed7db2-1595-443d-9d34-6215bf890778",
        "shortName": "Google"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "patch"
          ],
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://kernel.dance/3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00027.html"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "discovery": "EXTERNAL"
      },
      "title": "Use-after-free in Linux kernel\u0027s netfilter: nf_tables component",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "Vulnogram 0.1.0-dev"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "14ed7db2-1595-443d-9d34-6215bf890778",
    "assignerShortName": "Google",
    "cveId": "CVE-2023-4244",
    "datePublished": "2023-09-06T13:53:24.873Z",
    "dateReserved": "2023-08-08T15:36:07.559Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-07-28T14:43:13.218Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2023-4244",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "epss": "0.00241",
      "percentile": "0.15276"
    },
    "microsoft_vex": {
      "current_release_date": "2023-09-12T00:00:00.000Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2023-4244",
      "id": "msrc_CVE-2023-4244",
      "initial_release_date": "2023-09-01T00:00:00.000Z",
      "product_status:fixed": "1",
      "product_status:known_affected": "1",
      "source": "Microsoft CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "Use-after-free in Linux kernel\u0027s netfilter: nf_tables component",
      "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/csaf/vex/2023/msrc_cve-2023-4244.json",
      "version": "1"
    },
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "packageName": "kernel",
                "product": "Kernel",
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org",
                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "lessThan": "4.19.316",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "0.0",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "5.4.262",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "4.20",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "5.10.198",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "5.5",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "5.15.134",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "5.11",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "6.1.56",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "5.16",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "6.4.11",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "6.2",
                    "versionType": "custom"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com"
          }
        ],
        "configurations": [
          {
            "nodes": [
              {
                "cpeMatch": [
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "86D353F1-8F3A-45CF-8A7A-0DB46F77D2BF",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "4.19.316",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "28B0AAED-45BA-4928-9A85-66A429B9F038",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "5.4.262",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "66D916C3-4087-44FF-9CD9-D2826BCC9E3D",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.198",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "5.5",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "346A7B1E-5048-460C-9640-5EFA2075158B",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.134",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "5.11",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "5EA89569-DD45-4A69-BB4D-8356FA9386BD",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.56",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "5.16",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "9CFC7C99-E7C2-49CE-80DF-C086F6A9F008",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.4.11",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "6.2.0",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  }
                ],
                "negate": false,
                "operator": "OR"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "nodes": [
              {
                "cpeMatch": [
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "07B237A9-69A3-4A9C-9DA0-4E06BD37AE73",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  }
                ],
                "negate": false,
                "operator": "OR"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel\u0027s netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.\n\n\n\nDue to a race condition between nf_tables netlink control plane transaction and nft_set element garbage collection, it is possible to underflow the reference counter causing a use-after-free vulnerability.\n\n\n\nWe recommend upgrading past commit 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8."
          },
          {
            "lang": "es",
            "value": "Una vulnerabilidad de use-after-free en el netfilter del kernel de Linux: nf_tables componente puede ser explotado para lograr la escalada de privilegios locales. Debido a una condici\u00f3n de ejecuci\u00f3n entre nf_tables transacci\u00f3n del plano de control de enlace de red y la recolecci\u00f3n de elementos no utilizados de nft_set, es posible desbordar el contador de referencia causando una vulnerabilidad de use-after-free. Recomendamos actualizar al commit anterior 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2023-4244",
        "lastModified": "2026-07-30T19:14:53.767",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.8,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
              "type": "Secondary"
            },
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.0,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.0,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
              "type": "Primary"
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2023-09-06T14:15:11.877",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
            "tags": [
              "Issue Tracking",
              "Mailing List",
              "Patch",
              "Vendor Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
            "tags": [
              "Patch",
              "Vendor Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://kernel.dance/3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00027.html"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Issue Tracking",
              "Mailing List",
              "Patch",
              "Vendor Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Patch",
              "Vendor Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://kernel.dance/3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00027.html"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "cve-coordination@google.com",
        "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-416"
              }
            ],
            "source": "cve-coordination@google.com",
            "type": "Secondary"
          },
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-416"
              }
            ],
            "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
            "type": "Primary"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-11-07T13:29:22+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2023-4244",
      "id": "CVE-2023-4244",
      "initial_release_date": "2023-08-28T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:fixed": "906",
      "product_status:known_affected": "64",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "1",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: Use-after-free in nft_verdict_dump due to a race between set GC and transaction",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2023/cve-2023-4244.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.




Drag nodes to arrange them. Double-click a related vulnerability to open it, or a source to visit its link. The Physics button on the left tunes the layout and the simulation; the legend at the bottom left hides or shows nodes by kind and by sighting type.

Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Vulnerability timeline

Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC

JSON
How durations are calculated

Following the VTEM framework (Black Hat USA 2015), time to patch starts when the vendor or a coordinator was informed, total time to patch at discovery, and disclosure to patch at public disclosure; vendor response time runs from the report to its acknowledgement. Time to exploit and time unpatched start at the earliest discovery or report, falling back to public disclosure. Unpatched time ends at the first recorded patch, or the calculation time when no patch is recorded. Exploitation to patch shows the interval between those two events; a published proof of concept is a public exploit, not exploitation.

Each result shows its source dates. A negative interval means the end event came first; when date-only inputs leave the order open, the result says so. Date-only inputs are approximate. The earliest evidence wins: KEV report dates and sightings are labelled as such. Records describing another vulnerability are listed but never calculated from, and a PoC alone does not establish exploitation. Missing patch evidence does not prove that no patch exists. Filters below change the event list only.

Loading timeline…




    Related by attack behaviour

    Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.