CVE-2023-37281
CVE-2023-37281 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Contiki-ng with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3. 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-125.
Key facts
- Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.3)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (31st percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-125
- Affected product: Contiki-ng
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
Contiki-NG is an operating system for internet-of-things devices. In versions 4.9 and prior, when processing the various IPv6 header fields during IPHC header decompression, Contiki-NG confirms the received packet buffer contains enough data as needed for that field. But no similar check is done before decompressing the IPv6 address. Therefore, up to 16 bytes can be read out of bounds on the line with the statement `memcpy(&ipaddr->u8[16 - postcount], iphc_ptr, postcount);`. The value of `postcount` depends on the address compression used in the received packet and can be controlled by the attacker. As a result, an attacker can inject a packet that causes an out-of-bound read. As of time of publication, a patched version is not available. As a workaround, one can apply the changes in Contiki-NG pull request #2509 to patch the system.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2023-37281?
- Contiki-NG is an operating system for internet-of-things devices. In versions 4.9 and prior, when processing the various IPv6 header fields during IPHC header decompression, Contiki-NG confirms the received packet buffer contains enough data as needed for that field. But no similar check is done before decompressing the IPv6 address. Therefore, up to 16 bytes can be read out of bounds on the line with the statement `memcpy(&ipaddr->u8[16 - postcount], iphc_ptr, postcount);`. The value of `postcount` depends on the address compression used in the received packet and can be controlled by the attacker. As a result, an attacker can inject a packet that causes an out-of-bound read. As of time of publication, a patched version is not available. As a workaround, one can apply the changes in Contiki-NG pull request #2509 to patch the system.
- How severe is CVE-2023-37281?
- CVE-2023-37281 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity none, and availability none.
- Is CVE-2023-37281 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (31st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- What products are affected by CVE-2023-37281?
- CVE-2023-37281 affects Contiki-ng. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-37281?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
- When was CVE-2023-37281 published?
- CVE-2023-37281 was published on 2023-09-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.
References
- https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/pull/2509
- https://github.com/contiki-ng/contiki-ng/security/advisories/GHSA-2v4c-9p48-g9pr
Affected products (1)
- cpe:2.3:o:contiki-ng:contiki-ng:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
More vulnerabilities in Contiki-ng
- CVE-2018-19417 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An issue was discovered in the MQTT server in Contiki-NG before 4.2. The function parse_publish_vhdr() that parses MQTT…
- CVE-2023-30546 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Contiki-NG is an operating system for Internet of Things devices. An off-by-one error can be triggered in the Antelope…
- CVE-2020-24336 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in Contiki through 3.0 and Contiki-NG through 4.5. The code for parsing Type A domain name…
- CVE-2020-14936 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Buffer overflows were discovered in Contiki-NG 4.4 through 4.5, in the SNMP agent. Functions parsing the OIDs in SNMP…
- CVE-2020-14935 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Buffer overflows were discovered in Contiki-NG 4.4 through 4.5, in the SNMP bulk get request response encoding…
- CVE-2020-14934 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Buffer overflows were discovered in Contiki-NG 4.4 through 4.5, in the SNMP agent. The function parsing the received…
All CVEs affecting Contiki-ng →
Other CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-24826 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Out-of-bounds Write, Divide By Zero, NULL Pointer Dereference, Use of Uninitialized Resource, Out-of-bounds Read,…
- CVE-2024-22004 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Due to length check, an attacker with privilege access on a Linux Nonsecure operating system can trigger a…
- CVE-2021-41556 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): sqclass.cpp in Squirrel through 2.2.5 and 3.x through 3.1 allows an out-of-bounds read (in the core interpreter) that…
- CVE-2021-21777 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the Ethernet/IP UDP handler functionality of EIP Stack Group OpENer…
- CVE-2017-14451 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An exploitable out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in libevm (Ethereum Virtual Machine) of CPP-Ethereum. A…
- CVE-2013-0767 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The nsSVGPathElement::GetPathLengthScale function in Mozilla Firefox before 18.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.12 and…