Is CVE-2023-31129 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2023-31129 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2023-31129 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2023-31129 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-31129?

CVE-2023-31129 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

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CRITICAL

CVE-2023-31129

CWE-476Published: May 8, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

The Contiki-NG operating system versions 4.8 and prior can be triggered to dereference a NULL pointer in the message handling code for IPv6 router solicitiations. Contiki-NG contains an implementation of IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (ND) in the module `os/net/ipv6/uip-nd6.c`. The ND protocol includes a message type called Router Solicitation (RS), which is used to locate routers and update their address information via the SLLAO (Source Link-Layer Address Option). If the indicated source address changes, a given neighbor entry is set to the STALE state.

The message handler does not check for RS messages with an SLLAO that indicates a link-layer address change that a neighbor entry can actually be created for the indicated address. The resulting pointer is used without a check, leading to the dereference of a NULL pointer of type `uip_ds6_nbr_t`.

The problem has been patched in the `develop` branch of Contiki-NG, and will be included in the upcoming 4.9 release. As a workaround, users can apply Contiki-NG pull request #2271 to patch the problem directly.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-31129 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.