Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-3106 is a Linux kernel flaw that can crash a system component through local Netlink handling. The main business risk is denial of service on affected hosts. Red Hat marks severity medium and lists several RHEL releases as unaffected, but RHEL 7 kernel and kernel-rt status is unknown in the provided data.
Executive priority
Handle as a medium-priority Linux availability issue. Focus first on shared or business-critical RHEL 7 systems, because the provided evidence does not show internet exposure or active exploitation.
Technical view
The flaw is a NULL pointer dereference in netlink_dump triggered when Netlink receives XFRM_MSG_GETSA or XFRM_MSG_GETPOLICY messages with the DUMP flag set. CVSS 3.1 is 6.6 with local access, low complexity, low privileges, and high availability impact. Privilege escalation is described as unlikely but not fully ruled out.
Likely exposure
Systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 kernel or kernel-rt require investigation because their status is unknown. The bundle lists RHEL 6, 8, and 9 kernel variants as unaffected. Exposure appears local, requiring authenticated low-privileged access to the host.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation evidence is provided; KEV is false. The relevant attack surface is local Netlink/XFRM message handling, so risk is higher on multi-user hosts, shared Linux infrastructure, or environments where untrusted users can run local code.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports local denial of service via netlink_dump NULL pointer dereference. Confidentiality and integrity impacts are rated low in CVSS, and privilege escalation is only described as unlikely but not impossible. Affected status is incomplete for RHEL 7 kernel and kernel-rt.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory RHEL 7 hosts and kernel/kernel-rt package status against Red Hat guidance.
- Apply vendor-provided kernel updates when Red Hat marks affected builds and fixes.
- Prioritize multi-user or shared Linux hosts where local users are less trusted.
- Monitor Red Hat Bugzilla and CVE page for clarified RHEL 7 status.
- Avoid assuming unaffected status for RHEL 7 until vendor guidance confirms it.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any production hosts run RHEL 7 kernel or kernel-rt.
- Compare installed kernel packages with Red Hat’s CVE advisory status.
- Review system crash records for kernel null pointer dereference events in Netlink/XFRM paths.
- Check vulnerability scanner findings against the CVE’s local-access and affected-platform constraints.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-3106 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H1.84.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.6MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3106CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2221501CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/1ba5bf993c6a3142e18e68ea6452b347f9cb5635CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.