HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2023-27538
MEDIUM

CVE-2023-27538

CWE-305Published: March 30, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

5.5
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An authentication bypass vulnerability exists in libcurl prior to v8.0.0 where it reuses a previously established SSH connection despite the fact that an SSH option was modified, which should have prevented reuse. libcurl maintains a pool of previously used connections to reuse them for subsequent transfers if the configurations match. However, two SSH settings were omitted from the configuration check, allowing them to match easily, potentially leading to the reuse of an inappropriate connection.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-27538 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), with a CVSS base score of 5.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityNone
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Affected Vendors & Products

broadcom1 product(s)
brocade fabric operating system firmware
Debian1 product(s)
debian linux
Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
haxx1 product(s)
libcurl
netapp10 product(s)
active iq unified managerclustered data ontaph300s firmwareh300sh500s firmwareh500sh700s firmwareh700sh410s firmwareh410s
splunk1 product(s)
universal forwarder
Source: NVD CPE · 16 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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Official Patches & Advisories

All References (8)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2023-27538
CVSS Score5.5 / 10
SeverityMEDIUM
WeaknessCWE-305
CISA KEVNo
Affected6 vendor(s)
PublishedMar 30, 2023

Related CVEs (CWE-305)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2023-27538 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWatch. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.