Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-4004 is a Linux kernel netfilter memory-safety flaw. A local, low-privileged user could crash an affected system or potentially gain higher privileges. It is not a remote internet-facing bug by the supplied evidence, but it matters on shared Linux hosts, container platforms, and systems where untrusted users can run code.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority local privilege-escalation patching item, especially for multi-user, hosting, build, and container infrastructure. It is less urgent than a confirmed remote exploited bug, but delay increases the impact of any initial foothold.
Technical view
The flaw is a use-after-free in netfilter involving nft_pipapo_remove when an element lacks NFT_SET_EXT_KEY_END. The supplied CVSS is 7.8: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Red Hat lists affected kernel and kernel-rt packages across RHEL 8 and 9 streams.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 systems running the listed kernel or kernel-rt package versions. Risk is higher where users, workloads, or containers can execute local code. The bundle does not establish exposure for non-Red Hat distributions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV status or any cited confirmation of active exploitation. Exploitation requires local privileges, so attacker access generally starts from an existing account, compromised workload, or other local code execution path.
Researcher notes
Focus analysis on netfilter nftables set handling and the pipapo removal path. The key condition in the bundle is element removal without NFT_SET_EXT_KEY_END. Public patch discussion is cited, but this response does not infer exploit availability or affected products beyond the supplied sources.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the relevant Red Hat kernel or kernel-rt security advisory update.
- Reboot into the updated kernel if required by vendor guidance.
- Prioritize shared hosts, container nodes, and systems with untrusted local users.
- Check Red Hat CVE guidance for stream-specific package status.
- Restrict unnecessary local access where patching must be delayed.
Validation and detection
- Inventory RHEL 8 and 9 systems and enabled update streams.
- Compare installed kernel and kernel-rt versions against Red Hat affected entries.
- Confirm the running kernel is the updated version after maintenance.
- Review applicable RHSA advisories for package coverage.
- Verify kpatch status only against Red Hat guidance; the bundle lists kpatch-patch as unaffected.
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
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-416: 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 lookupCVE-2023-4004 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2023:4961CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:4962CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:4967CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5069CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5091CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5093CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5221CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5244CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5255CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5548CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:5627CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7382CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7389CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7411CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7417CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7431CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2023:7434CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4004CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2225275CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://patchwork.ozlabs.org/project/netfilter-devel/patch/20230719190824.21196-1-fw@strlen.de/CVE reference
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00027.htmlCVE reference · x_transferred
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231027-0001/CVE reference · x_transferred
- https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5480CVE reference · x_transferred
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.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.