HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2023-3972
HIGH

CVE-2023-3972

CWE-379Published: November 1, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A vulnerability was found in insights-client. This security issue occurs because of insecure file operations or unsafe handling of temporary files and directories that lead to local privilege escalation. Before the insights-client has been registered on the system by root, an unprivileged local user or attacker could create the /var/tmp/insights-client directory (owning the directory with read, write, and execute permissions) on the system. After the insights-client is registered by root, an attacker could then control the directory content that insights are using by putting malicious scripts into it and executing arbitrary code as root (trivially bypassing SELinux protections because insights processes are allowed to disable SELinux system-wide).

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-3972 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), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

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

Affected Vendors & Products

Red Hat19 product(s)
insights-cliententerprise linuxenterprise linux ausenterprise linux desktopenterprise linux eusenterprise linux for arm 64enterprise linux for arm 64 eusenterprise linux for ibm z systemsenterprise linux for ibm z systems eusenterprise linux for power big endianenterprise linux for power little endianenterprise linux for power little endian eus+7
Source: NVD CPE · 51 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

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

All References (22)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2023-3972
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-379
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedNov 1, 2023

Related CVEs (CWE-379)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2023-3972 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.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.