How severe is CVE-2023-1523?

CVE-2023-1523 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-1523 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (72nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-1523?

CVE-2023-1523 primarily affects Canonical Snapd. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-1523?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2023-1523 published?

CVE-2023-1523 was published on 2023-09-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-1523

CVE-2023-1523 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Canonical Snapd with a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-74.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 10.0)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (72nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-74
Affected product: Canonical Snapd
Published: 2023-09-01
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Using the TIOCLINUX ioctl request, a malicious snap could inject contents into the input of the controlling terminal which could allow it to cause arbitrary commands to be executed outside of the snap sandbox after the snap exits. Graphical terminal emulators like xterm, gnome-terminal and others are not affected - this can only be exploited when snaps are run on a virtual console.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-1523?: Using the TIOCLINUX ioctl request, a malicious snap could inject contents into the input of the controlling terminal which could allow it to cause arbitrary commands to be executed outside of the snap sandbox after the snap exits. Graphical terminal emulators like xterm, gnome-terminal and others are not affected - this can only be exploited when snaps are run on a virtual console.
How severe is CVE-2023-1523?: CVE-2023-1523 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-1523 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (72nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-1523?: CVE-2023-1523 primarily affects Canonical Snapd. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-1523?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2023-1523 published?: CVE-2023-1523 was published on 2023-09-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:a:canonical:snapd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.10:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:23.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Canonical Snapd

CVE-2019-7304 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Canonical snapd before version 2.37.1 incorrectly performed socket owner validation, allowing an attacker to run…
CVE-2020-27352 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): When generating the systemd service units for the docker snap (and other similar snaps), snapd does not specify…
CVE-2021-4120 — High (CVSS 8.2): snapd 2.54.2 fails to perform sufficient validation of snap content interface and layout paths, resulting in the…
CVE-2024-5138 — High (CVSS 8.1): The snapctl component within snapd allows a confined snap to interact with the snapd daemon to take certain privileged…
CVE-2022-3328 — High (CVSS 7.8): Race condition in snap-confine's must_mkdir_and_open_with_perms()
CVE-2021-44731 — High (CVSS 7.8): A race condition existed in the snapd 2.54.2 snap-confine binary when preparing a private mount namespace for a snap.…

All CVEs affecting Canonical Snapd →

Other CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements (Injection)) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-105135 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability has been found in InternLM MindSearch 0.1.0. This issue affects the function ExecutionAction.run of the…
CVE-2026-61732 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Decepticon is an autonomous hacking agent for red teams. Versions prior to 1.1.17 wrap web crawl results — the output…
CVE-2026-94097 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability was determined in Netcore NBR200V2 1.3.241127.071246. This affects an unknown part of the file…
CVE-2026-20130 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): As part of Cisco's ongoing commitment to proactive security and product quality, the Cisco Identity Services Engine…
CVE-2026-82971 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability was determined in QVidium Opera11 3.3.2a26-Ax4x-opera11. This affects an unknown part of the file…
CVE-2026-54159 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): PrestaShop ps_facetedsearch is a module that adds layered navigation filters. From 3.0.0 until 4.0.4, the…

Browse all CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements (Injection)) vulnerabilities →

Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

202.46.28.140 (ipv4-addr)
168.90.177.192 (ipv4-addr)