How severe is CVE-2023-36054?

CVE-2023-36054 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-36054 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (80th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-36054?

CVE-2023-36054 primarily affects Mit Kerberos 5. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-36054?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2023-36054 published?

CVE-2023-36054 was published on 2023-08-07 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-36054

CVE-2023-36054 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5 with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. 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-824.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (80th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-824
Affected product: Mit Kerberos 5
Published: 2023-08-07
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

lib/kadm5/kadm_rpc_xdr.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) before 1.20.2 and 1.21.x before 1.21.1 frees an uninitialized pointer. A remote authenticated user can trigger a kadmind crash. This occurs because _xdr_kadm5_principal_ent_rec does not validate the relationship between n_key_data and the key_data array count.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-36054?: lib/kadm5/kadm_rpc_xdr.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) before 1.20.2 and 1.21.x before 1.21.1 frees an uninitialized pointer. A remote authenticated user can trigger a kadmind crash. This occurs because _xdr_kadm5_principal_ent_rec does not validate the relationship between n_key_data and the key_data array count.
How severe is CVE-2023-36054?: CVE-2023-36054 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-36054 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (80th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-36054?: CVE-2023-36054 primarily affects Mit Kerberos 5. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-36054?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2023-36054 published?: CVE-2023-36054 was published on 2023-08-07 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (9)

cpe:2.3:a:mit:kerberos_5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:mit:kerberos_5:1.21:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:mit:kerberos_5:1.21:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:netapp:clustered_data_ontap:9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:netapp:hci:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:netapp:management_services_for_element_software:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:netapp:ontap_tools:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Mit Kerberos 5

CVE-2011-0285 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The process_chpw_request function in schpw.c in the password-changing functionality in kadmind in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka…
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CVE-2009-0846 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The asn1_decode_generaltime function in lib/krb5/asn.1/asn1_decode.c in the ASN.1 GeneralizedTime decoder in MIT…
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Other CWE-824 vulnerabilities

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CVE-2022-44451 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A use of uninitialized pointer vulnerability exists in the MSI format atom functionality of Open Babel 3.1.1 and master…

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