Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-7216 affects Red Hat's cpio package. A malicious archive can cause extracted files to be written outside the intended folder through symlinks. The user must open or extract the archive, so urgency is highest where servers or staff process untrusted archives.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for systems that process outside archives or run automated extraction jobs. This is not KEV-listed in the provided data, but arbitrary file write risk can become serious on privileged or sensitive hosts.
Technical view
This is a CWE-59 symlink-following/path traversal flaw during CPIO extraction. The provided CVSS is 5.3 with user interaction required. Sources list RHEL 7, 8, and 9 cpio as affected; RHEL 6 status is unknown. The description supports arbitrary file write through symlinks.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, or 9 systems with cpio installed, especially backup, packaging, build, ingest, or support workflows that extract archives from external or low-trust sources.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation is stated in the provided sources, and this CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires a crafted archive and a user or process extracting it. The title mentions remote command execution, but the supplied description directly supports arbitrary file write.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports symlink traversal during extraction causing writes outside the intended directory. The public bundle does not provide exploit details, proof of active exploitation, or a specific fixed version. Avoid assuming RCE unless additional vendor detail confirms an executable overwrite path.
Mitigation direction
- Check Red Hat CVE guidance for fixed cpio packages or official mitigations.
- Update affected Red Hat systems when vendor-provided packages are available.
- Do not extract untrusted CPIO archives on production systems.
- Run archive extraction with least privilege in isolated, disposable workspaces.
- Treat automated archive-ingestion pipelines as higher priority for review.
Validation and detection
- Inventory RHEL 7, 8, and 9 hosts with the cpio package installed.
- Check package status against Red Hat CVE-2023-7216 guidance.
- Identify workflows that extract CPIO archives from external sources.
- Confirm extraction jobs do not run as root unless operationally required.
- Track RHEL 6 separately because the provided 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-59: 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 lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-7216 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
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L1.83.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-7216CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2249901CVE reference · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
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.
Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.