CVE-2023-27788Public exploit

Process crash via empty portmap argument

Published Mar 16, 2023 · Updated Feb 26, 2025

Reachable assertion in TCPrewrite 4.4.3 allows attackers to crash the process by supplying an empty --portmap argument. The option parser accepts the empty string, strtok_r returns NULL, and ports2PORT asserts that the resulting ports pointer is non-null instead of rejecting the input. Exploitation requires control of the TCPrewrite command line; the demonstrated consequence is termination by SIGABRT, not a network service outage.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.38%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Reachable assertion in TCPrewrite 4.4.3 allows attackers to crash the process by supplying an empty --portmap argument. The option parser accepts the empty string, strtok_r returns NULL, and ports2PORT asserts that the resulting ports pointer is non-null instead of rejecting the input. Exploitation requires control of the TCPrewrite command line; the demonstrated consequence is termination by SIGABRT, not a network service outage.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-27788
Published
Mar 16, 2023
Updated
Feb 26, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-617, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 26, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-617Reachable Assertion
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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