CVE-2023-23009Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authenticated IKEv2 daemon restart via unchecked parse error

Published Feb 21, 2023 · Updated Mar 17, 2025

Denial of service in Libreswan 4.2 through 4.9 allows remote authenticated users to restart the pluto daemon via a malformed IKEv2 TS payload. The v2_parse_tss function in programs/pluto/ikev2_ts.c fails to stop after pbs_in_struct reports an invalid Traffic Selector header, reaches a double free, and aborts. The vulnerable parser runs only after peer authentication unless Opportunistic Encryption or NULL authentication is configured; repeated packets can keep the IKE service unavailable, but the vendor reports no code execution.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.61%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Libreswan 4.2 through 4.9 allows remote authenticated users to restart the pluto daemon via a malformed IKEv2 TS payload. The v2_parse_tss function in programs/pluto/ikev2_ts.c fails to stop after pbs_in_struct reports an invalid Traffic Selector header, reaches a double free, and aborts. The vulnerable parser runs only after peer authentication unless Opportunistic Encryption or NULL authentication is configured; repeated packets can keep the IKE service unavailable, but the vendor reports no code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-23009
Published
Feb 21, 2023
Updated
Mar 17, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 21, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 17, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo