How severe is CVE-2023-6238?

CVE-2023-6238 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2023-6238 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (21st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-6238?

CVE-2023-6238 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2023-6238?

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

When was CVE-2023-6238 published?

CVE-2023-6238 was published on 2023-11-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2023-6238

CVE-2023-6238 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7. 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-120.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.7)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (21st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-120
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2023-11-21
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A buffer overflow vulnerability was found in the NVM Express (NVMe) driver in the Linux kernel. Only privileged user could specify a small meta buffer and let the device perform larger Direct Memory Access (DMA) into the same buffer, overwriting unrelated kernel memory, causing random kernel crashes and memory corruption.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-6238?: A buffer overflow vulnerability was found in the NVM Express (NVMe) driver in the Linux kernel. Only privileged user could specify a small meta buffer and let the device perform larger Direct Memory Access (DMA) into the same buffer, overwriting unrelated kernel memory, causing random kernel crashes and memory corruption.
How severe is CVE-2023-6238?: CVE-2023-6238 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2023-6238 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (21st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2023-6238?: CVE-2023-6238 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2023-6238?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2023-6238 published?: CVE-2023-6238 was published on 2023-11-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Linux Linux Kernel

CVE-2023-2163 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Incorrect verifier pruning in BPF in Linux Kernel >=5.4 leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe,…
CVE-2015-8104 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel through 4.2.6, and Xen 4.3.x through 4.6.x, allows guest OS users to cause a…
CVE-2015-1421 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Use-after-free vulnerability in the sctp_assoc_update function in net/sctp/associola.c in the Linux kernel before…
CVE-2014-2523 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_proto_dccp.c in the Linux kernel through 3.13.6 uses a DCCP header pointer incorrectly,…
CVE-2010-2495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The pppol2tp_xmit function in drivers/net/pppol2tp.c in the L2TP implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.34 does…
CVE-2010-2521 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Multiple buffer overflows in fs/nfsd/nfs4xdr.c in the XDR implementation in the NFS server in the Linux kernel before…

All CVEs affecting Linux Linux Kernel →

Other CWE-120 (Classic Buffer Overflow) vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-48611 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): In DeviceId of DeviceId.java, there is a possible desync in persistence due to a missing bounds check. This could lead…
CVE-2026-24823 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Out-of-bounds Write, Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') vulnerability in FASTSHIFT…
CVE-2026-24810 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') vulnerability in rethinkdb (src/cjson modules).…
CVE-2026-24800 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Out-of-bounds Write, Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') vulnerability in tildearrow…
CVE-2025-9962 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A buffer overflow vulnerability in Novakon P series allows attackers to gain root permission without prior…
CVE-2010-10016 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): BS.Player version 2.57 (build 1051) contains a vulnerability in its playlist import functionality. When processing .m3u…

Browse all CWE-120 (Classic Buffer Overflow) vulnerabilities →