BlackTreeCVE Intelligence
← Back to the CVE catalogue
Full vulnerability report · 2024
CVE-2023-46838High confidence

Linux: netback processing of zero-length transmit fragment

Linux · Linux

7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 1.18% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Linux Linux and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 30 daysRemediation target: Within 180 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Distribution package intelligence

Release-specific package status

Debian findings are scoped to the named distribution, release and source package. An absent finding does not mean a package is unaffected.

4 package states
Repository candidate not checked

A published vendor fix does not prove that a matching update is enabled and installable on a particular asset. Confirm the local package candidate before scheduling remediation.

Distribution releaseSource packageVendor stateFixed versionEvidence
Debian trixietrixie · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.6.6.15-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian bookwormbookworm · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.6.1.76-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian forkyforky · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.6.6.15-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Debian sidsid · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.6.6.15-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2023-51004

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

Transmit requests in Xen's virtual network protocol can consist of multiple parts. While not really useful, except for the initial part any of them may be of zero length, i.e. carry no data at all. Besides a certain initial portion of the to be transferred data, these parts are directly translated into what Linux calls SKB fragments. Such converted request parts can, when for a particular SKB they are all of length zero, lead to a de-reference of NULL in core networking code.

What

Transmit requests in Xen's virtual network protocol can consist of multiple parts. While not really useful, except for the initial part any of them may be of zero length, i.e. carry no data at all. Besides a certain initial portion of the to be transferred data, these parts are directly translated into what Linux calls SKB fragments. Such converted request parts can, when for a particular SKB they are all of length zero, lead to a de-reference of NULL in core networking code.

Why

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Transmit requests in Xen's virtual network protocol can consist of multiple parts. While not really useful, except for the initial part any of them may be of zero length, i.e. carry no data at all. Besides a certain initial portion of the to be transferred data, these parts are directly translated into what Linux calls SKB fragments. Such converted request parts can, when for a particular SKB they are all of length zero, lead to a de-reference of NULL in core networking code.

Why

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → NULL Pointer Dereference → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-476 ↗

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-476
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2024-0176Xen: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Denial of Service

Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in Xen ausnutzen, um einen Denial of Service Angriff durchzuführen.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20240131Security Bulletin 31 Jan 2024

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 31 Jan 2024, published on 31 January 2024. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0527Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de Debian LTS

LTS DLA-3843-1 du 25 juin 2024 https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00019.html Référence CVE CVE-2021-33630 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-33630 Référence CVE CVE-2022-38096 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38096 Référence CVE CVE-2022-48627 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48627 Référence CVE CVE-2022-48655 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48655 Référence CVE CVE-2023-0386 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0386 Référence CVE CVE-2023-28746 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-28746 Référence CVE CVE-2023-39198 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39198 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-47233 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-47233 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51779 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51779 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52340 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52340 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52429 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52429 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52434 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52434 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52435 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52435 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52436 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52438 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0333Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

lletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-6726-3 du 17 avril 2024 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6726-3 Référence CVE CVE-2023-1194 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1194 Référence CVE CVE-2023-32254 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32254 Référence CVE CVE-2023-32258 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32258 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38427 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38427 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38430 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38430 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38431 Référence CVE CVE-2023-3867 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3867 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-50431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50431 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52340 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52340 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52429 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52429 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52434 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52434 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52435 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52435 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52436 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52438 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52438 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52439 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0301Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

ecord?id=CVE-2023-32254 Référence CVE CVE-2023-32258 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32258 Référence CVE CVE-2023-34256 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-34256 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38427 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38427 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38430 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38430 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38431 Référence CVE CVE-2023-3867 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3867 Référence CVE CVE-2023-39197 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39197 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4132 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4132 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-50431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50431 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51781 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51781 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52340 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52340 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52429 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52429 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52434 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52434 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52435 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52435 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52436 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52438 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0263Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-23004 Référence CVE CVE-2023-3006 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3006 Référence CVE CVE-2023-32247 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32247 Référence CVE CVE-2023-34256 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-34256 Référence CVE CVE-2023-39197 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39197 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4132 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4132 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4134 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4134 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4244 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4244 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46343 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46343 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46862 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46862 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51779 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51779 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51780 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51780 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51781 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51781 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51782 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51782 Référence CVE CVE-2023-6121 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6121 Référence CVE CVE-2024-0340 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-0340 Référence CVE CVE-2024-0607 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0243Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

VERecord?id=CVE-2023-3006 Référence CVE CVE-2023-30456 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-30456 Référence CVE CVE-2023-32247 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32247 Référence CVE CVE-2023-34256 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-34256 Référence CVE CVE-2023-39197 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39197 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4132 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4132 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4134 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4134 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4244 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4244 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46343 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46343 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46862 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46862 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4921 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4921 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51779 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51779 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51780 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51780 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51781 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51781 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51782 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51782 Référence CVE CVE-2023-6039 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6039 Référence CVE CVE-2023-6121 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0226Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

024 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6681-3 Bulletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-6686-2 du 13 mars 2024 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6686-2 Bulletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-6688-1 du 11 mars 2024 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6688-1 Référence CVE CVE-2021-44879 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-44879 Référence CVE CVE-2023-22995 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-22995 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4134 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4134 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4244 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4244 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46343 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46343 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46862 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46862 Référence CVE CVE-2023-50431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50431 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51779 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51779 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51780 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51780 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51782 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51782 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52436 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52438 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52438 Référence CVE CVE-2023-52439 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0144Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

1/ Bulletin de sécurité SUSE SUSE-SU-2024:0484-1 du 15 février 2024 https://www.suse.com/support/update/announcement/2024/suse-su-20240484-1/ Bulletin de sécurité SUSE SUSE-SU-2024:0514-1 du 15 février 2024 https://www.suse.com/support/update/announcement/2024/suse-su-20240514-1/ Bulletin de sécurité SUSE SUSE-SU-2024:0515-1 du 15 février 2024 https://www.suse.com/support/update/announcement/2024/suse-su-20240515-1/ Bulletin de sécurité SUSE SUSE-SU-2024:0516-1 du 15 février 2024 https://www.suse.com/support/update/announcement/2024/suse-su-20240516-1/ Référence CVE CVE-2021-33631 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-33631 Référence CVE CVE-2023-46838 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46838 Référence CVE CVE-2023-47233 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-47233 Référence CVE CVE-2023-4921 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4921 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51042 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51042 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51043 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51043 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51780 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51780 Référence CVE CVE-2023-51782 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-51782 Référence CVE CVE-2023-6040 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6040 Référence CVE CVE-2023-6356 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0065Vulnérabilité dans Citrix Hypervisor

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Citrix Hypervisor. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer un déni de service à distance.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2024-AVI-0060Vulnérabilité dans Xen

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Xen. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer un déni de service à distance.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2023-025722Linux の Linux Kernel における NULL ポインタデリファレンスに関する脆弱性

Linux の Linux Kernel には、NULL ポインタデリファレンスに関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Linux: consult Xen advisory XSA-448
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 29 Jan 2024 · Last source change 4 Nov 2025, 18:18 UTC · CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-51004
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2023-46838 · cve.blacktree.nl