CVE-2023-4459

Guest crash via vmxnet3 cleanup NULL dereference

Published Aug 21, 2023 · Updated Nov 15, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel vmxnet3 driver allows local users to crash affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems. After a receive-queue allocation failure clears rx_ring.base, vmxnet3_rq_cleanup dereferences that NULL pointer while unwinding an MTU-change error. Normal local-user access in a guest using the vmxnet3 adapter is required, and the consequence is a guest operating-system crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel vmxnet3 driver allows local users to crash affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems. After a receive-queue allocation failure clears rx_ring.base, vmxnet3_rq_cleanup dereferences that NULL pointer while unwinding an MTU-change error. Normal local-user access in a guest using the vmxnet3 adapter is required, and the consequence is a guest operating-system crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-4459
Published
Aug 21, 2023
Updated
Nov 15, 2025
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 21, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 15, 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 versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update SupportAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Affected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update SupportAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update SupportAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Telecommunications Update ServiceAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Update Services for SAP SolutionsAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9Affected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update ServiceAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update SupportAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP SolutionsAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Red Hat · Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Affected versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
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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