CVE-2023-28938

Service interruption via Detail cleanup memory leak

Published Aug 11, 2023 · Updated Oct 2, 2024

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Mdadm Project mdadm before 4.2-rc2 allows privileged local users to interrupt service. The Detail function returns through error paths without releasing allocated state, while normal cleanup also omits a supertype allocation, leaking memory after a --detail operation. The command generally requires root privileges and runs as a one-shot process, bounding the documented consequence to a low-impact local service interruption.

CVSS severity3.4
Low
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Mdadm Project mdadm before 4.2-rc2 allows privileged local users to interrupt service. The Detail function returns through error paths without releasing allocated state, while normal cleanup also omits a supertype allocation, leaking memory after a --detail operation. The command generally requires root privileges and runs as a one-shot process, bounding the documented consequence to a low-impact local service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-28938
Published
Aug 11, 2023
Updated
Oct 2, 2024
Vendor
Mdadm Project
Product
mdadm
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 11, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=before version mdadm-4.2-rc2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Mdadm Project · mdadmversion=before version mdadm-4.2-rc2

Published CVSS scores

4.4NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.4Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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