Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-50927 affects Contiki-NG, an operating system used in IoT devices. Malformed RPL-Lite routing messages can cause out-of-bounds reads. The published impact is high availability loss, so the main business concern is disruption of affected devices rather than data theft.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for environments operating Contiki-NG-based IoT devices. The likely business impact is service disruption or device instability, not confirmed data compromise. Focus first on critical or hard-to-access devices running pre-4.9 firmware.
Technical view
The flaw is CWE-125 in Contiki-NG RPL-Lite before 4.9. Insufficient length checks for DIO and DAO messages, especially with RPL sub-option headers, allow network unauthenticated triggering of out-of-bounds reads. CVSS 3.1 is 8.6 with high availability impact and no confidentiality or integrity impact listed.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Contiki-NG deployments before 4.9 that use the affected RPL-Lite implementation. Organizations should check IoT firmware, SBOMs, and device vendor documentation. Evidence does not identify specific downstream products, so product-level exposure may require vendor confirmation.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The CVSS vector indicates network reachability, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. Sources do not provide public exploit status beyond the vulnerability description.
Researcher notes
Analysis is source-limited. The advisory identifies DIO and DAO length handling around RPL sub-option headers but does not name downstream products or active exploitation. Validation should avoid assuming exposure unless Contiki-NG before 4.9 is present.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected Contiki-NG deployments to version 4.9 or later.
- If upgrade is not possible, apply the code changes from PR #2484.
- Ask device vendors whether their firmware includes affected Contiki-NG versions.
- Prioritize devices where availability loss would affect operations or safety.
- Monitor vendor advisories for downstream product-specific fixes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory IoT devices and firmware for Contiki-NG usage.
- Confirm any Contiki-NG version is 4.9 or includes PR #2484 changes.
- Review build configuration for RPL-Lite usage where source access exists.
- Check vendor SBOMs or release notes for Contiki-NG dependency versions.
- Document devices where vendor exposure status is unknown.
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-125: 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-2023-50927 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
- 8.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H3.94Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/security/advisories/GHSA-9423-rgj4-wjfwCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/pull/2484CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.