HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2023-38712
MEDIUM

CVE-2023-38712

CWE-476Published: August 25, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

6.5
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-38712 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

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

A successful exploit results in availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 6.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

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

Affected Vendors & Products

libreswan1 product(s)
libreswan
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://github.com/libreswan/libreswan/tags
ADVISORYhttps://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2023-38712/
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/libreswan/libreswan/tags
ADVISORYhttps://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2023-38712/

All References (4)

→
https://github.com/libreswan/libreswan/tagsThird Party Advisory
→
https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2023-38712/Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/libreswan/libreswan/tagsThird Party Advisory
→
https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2023-38712/Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2023-38712
CVSS Score6.5 / 10
SeverityMEDIUM
WeaknessCWE-476
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedAug 25, 2023

Related CVEs (CWE-476)

CVE-2022-36648
10.0
CVE-2010-2495
10.0
CVE-2024-40493
9.8
CVE-2021-1946
9.8
CVE-2021-3319
9.8
CVE-2023-31129
9.8

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2023-38712 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.
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