#VU81659 Out-of-bounds read in Linux kernel - CVE-2023-38431

Vulnerability identifier: #VU81659

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-38431

CWE-ID: CWE-125

Exploitation vector: Local network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to a boundary condition in fs/smb/server/connection.c within ksmbd. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted data to the system, trigger an out-of-bounds read error and read contents of memory or perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: before 6.3.8, 6.3.8

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/fs/smb/server?id=368ba06881c395f1c9a7ba22203cf8d78b4addc0
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/ChangeLog-6.3.8
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230824-0011/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.