CVE-2023-34966

CVE-2023-34966 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 62% places it in the 99th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-835.

Key facts

Description

An infinite loop vulnerability was found in Samba's mdssvc RPC service for Spotlight. When parsing Spotlight mdssvc RPC packets sent by the client, the core unmarshalling function sl_unpack_loop() did not validate a field in the network packet that contains the count of elements in an array-like structure. By passing 0 as the count value, the attacked function will run in an endless loop consuming 100% CPU. This flaw allows an attacker to issue a malformed RPC request, triggering an infinite loop, resulting in a denial of service condition.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-34966?
An infinite loop vulnerability was found in Samba's mdssvc RPC service for Spotlight. When parsing Spotlight mdssvc RPC packets sent by the client, the core unmarshalling function sl_unpack_loop() did not validate a field in the network packet that contains the count of elements in an array-like structure. By passing 0 as the count value, the attacked function will run in an endless loop consuming 100% CPU. This flaw allows an attacker to issue a malformed RPC request, triggering an infinite loop, resulting in a denial of service condition.
How severe is CVE-2023-34966?
CVE-2023-34966 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-34966 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 62% (99th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-34966?
CVE-2023-34966 primarily affects Redhat Enterprise Linux. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-34966?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2023-34966 published?
CVE-2023-34966 was published on 2023-07-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

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