Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-6915 is a Linux kernel null pointer dereference that can crash affected systems. The business impact is availability: a local attacker may be able to trigger denial of service. The provided sources identify affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 kernel packages, while RHEL 6 and 7 are listed as unaffected.
Executive priority
Address in normal kernel patch cycles unless the environment has many shared, multi-user, or untrusted-workload Linux systems. The issue affects availability, not confidentiality or integrity, and the provided evidence does not show active exploitation.
Technical view
The flaw is in ida_free in lib/idr.c. A missing check after a function return can lead to a null pointer dereference. CVSS 3.1 is 6.2, with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Most relevant exposure is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 systems running the listed kernel or kernel-rt packages. RHEL 6 and 7 are listed as unaffected in the source bundle. Debian LTS is referenced, but this bundle does not provide detailed Debian package scope.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. Treat this as a local denial-of-service risk, not a confirmed remote compromise or data theft issue. Public details support availability impact, but not exploit-in-the-wild claims.
Researcher notes
Scope is strongest for Red Hat Enterprise Linux package data in the source bundle. The upstream Linux commit is referenced, but the bundle does not provide full cross-distribution affected-version mapping. Avoid broad claims about all Linux distributions without vendor confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the relevant Red Hat kernel security advisory updates for affected RHEL 8 and 9 systems.
- Check the Red Hat CVE page for corrected kernel and kernel-rt package guidance.
- Reboot systems after kernel updates so the fixed kernel is running.
- Review Debian LTS guidance if Debian systems are in scope.
- Prioritize internet-facing or multi-user Linux hosts where local code execution is plausible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory RHEL 8 and 9 hosts and record installed kernel and kernel-rt package versions.
- Compare installed packages with RHSA-2024:2394, RHSA-2024:2950, and RHSA-2024:3138.
- Confirm the running kernel version after reboot, not only the installed package version.
- Verify RHEL 6 and 7 assets are not incorrectly flagged as affected.
- Monitor kernel crash logs for null pointer dereference or related oops events.
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-476: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-6915 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.53.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.2MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2024:2394CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2024:2950CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2024:3138CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-6915CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2254982CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/af73483f4e8b6f5c68c9aa63257bdd929a9c194aCVE reference
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00016.htmlCVE 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.