{"id":44449,"date":"2025-05-25T23:39:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T23:39:37","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-08T04:18:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T10:18:55","slug":"cve-2023-6040-out-of-bounds-access-vulnerability-in-netfilter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-6040-out-of-bounds-access-vulnerability-in-netfilter\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2023-6040: Out-of-Bounds Access Vulnerability in Netfilter<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cybersecurity landscape continues to face new challenges with the discovery of the CVE-2023-6040 vulnerability, an out-of-bounds access issue involving netfilter. This vulnerability affects systems employing the netfilter technology, which is particularly used in Linux distributions for packet filtering, network address translation, and port translation.
\nThe CVE-2023-6040 vulnerability poses a severe threat due to its potential<\/a> for system compromise and data leakage. This could have disastrous consequences, especially for organizations dealing with sensitive data, as it could lead to unauthorized<\/a> data access and malicious activities within the compromised system.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2023-6040
\nSeverity: High (7.8)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

Linux Kernel<\/a> | Versions prior to f1082dd31fe4<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability stems from an issue within the `nf_tables_newtable` function<\/a>. While creating a new netfilter table, there is a lack of safeguard against invalid nf_tables family (pf) values. This oversight enables an attacker to supply invalid pf values, leading to out-of-bounds access<\/a>. This out-of-bounds access could then be exploited to execute arbitrary code<\/a>, alter system functionality, or access sensitive data, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the following conceptual pseudocode to understand the potential exploitation:<\/p>\n

#include \nvoid exploit_vulnerability() {\nstruct nft_table *table;\nu8 invalid_family_value = 0xFF; \/\/ Invalid family value\n\/\/ Create a new netfilter table with an invalid family value\ntable = nf_tables_newtable(invalid_family_value, ...);\n\/\/ Leverage out-of-bounds access for malicious activity\ndo_malicious_activity(table);\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
In this hypothetical example, an attacker could use an invalid family value to create a new netfilter table. The resulting out-of-bounds access could then be used for malicious activities, potentially leading to system<\/a> compromise or data leakage.
\nGiven the severity of this vulnerability<\/a>, it is highly recommended to apply any available vendor patches or use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview The cybersecurity landscape continues to face new challenges with the discovery of the CVE-2023-6040 vulnerability, an out-of-bounds access issue involving netfilter. This vulnerability affects systems employing the netfilter technology, which is particularly used in Linux distributions for packet filtering, network address translation, and port translation. The CVE-2023-6040 vulnerability poses a severe threat due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[88],"product":[95],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-44449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-linux","product-linux-kernel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t