Is CVE-2023-36673 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2023-36673 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2023-36673 be exploited remotely?

Partially. CVE-2023-36673 requires adjacent network access (same network segment) to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-36673?

CVE-2023-36673 has a CVSS score of 7.3 (HIGH).

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HIGH

CVE-2023-36673

CWE-319Published: August 9, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.3

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in Avira Phantom VPN through 2.23.1 for macOS. The VPN client insecurely configures the operating system such that all IP traffic to the VPN server's IP address is sent in plaintext outside the VPN tunnel, even if this traffic is not generated by the VPN client, while simultaneously using plaintext DNS to look up the VPN server's IP address. This allows an adversary to trick the victim into sending traffic to arbitrary IP addresses in plaintext outside the VPN tunnel. NOTE: the tunnelcrack.mathyvanhoef.com website uses this CVE ID to refer more generally to "ServerIP attack, combined with DNS spoofing, that can leak traffic to an arbitrary IP address" rather than to only Avira Phantom VPN.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-36673 requires adjacent network access, limiting remote exploitation but still posing risk in shared or local network environments.

Exploitation does not require any privileges, though user interaction (Required) is needed, which slightly reduces the risk of mass automated attacks.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 7.3.