CVE-2023-52581

Service interruption via nf_tables garbage-collection counter wrap

Published Mar 2, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026

Memory leak in nf_tables in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through element expiration. The garbage collector stores its element count in an 8-bit field, so the count wraps before a new container is allocated and earlier expired elements become untracked. Triggering the condition requires more than 255 elements to expire in one collection cycle; repeated leakage can interrupt services by exhausting host memory.

CVSS severity6.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in nf_tables in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through element expiration. The garbage collector stores its element count in an 8-bit field, so the count wraps before a new container is allocated and earlier expired elements become untracked. Triggering the condition requires more than 255 elements to expire in one collection cycle; repeated leakage can interrupt services by exhausting host memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-52581
Published
Mar 2, 2024
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record 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=0624f190b5742a1527cd938295caa8dc5281d4cd
  2. Affected versionversion=448be0774882f95a74fa5eb7519761152add601b <09c85f2d21ab6b5acba31a037985b13e8e6565b8
  3. Affected versionversion=5f68718b34a531a556f2f50300ead2862278da26 <4aea243b6853d06c1d160a9955b759189aa02b14
  4. Affected versionversion=5f68718b34a531a556f2f50300ead2862278da26 <cf5000a7787cbc10341091d37245a42c119d26c5
  5. Affected versionversion=6.4.11 <6.5
  6. Affected versionversion=6.5
  7. Affected versionversion=8da1b048f9a501d3d7d38c188ba09d7d0d5b8c27 <7cf055b43756b10aa2b851c927c940f5ed652125
  8. Affected versionversion=bbdb3b65aa91aa0a32b212f27780b28987f2d94f <a995a68e8a3b48533e47c856865d109a1f1a9d01
  9. Affected versionversion=d19e8bf3ea4114dd21fc35da21f398203d7f7df1 <ef99506eaf1dc31feff1adfcfd68bc5535a22171
  10. Affected versionversion=ea3eb9f2192e4fc33b795673e56c97a21987f868 <7e5d732e6902eb6a37b35480796838a145ae5f07

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0624f190b5742a1527cd938295caa8dc5281d4cd; version=448be0774882f95a74fa5eb7519761152add601b <09c85f2d21ab6b5acba31a037985b13e8e6565b8; version=5f68718b34a531a556f2f50300ead2862278da26 <4aea243b6853d06c1d160a9955b759189aa02b14; version=5f68718b34a531a556f2f50300ead2862278da26 <cf5000a7787cbc10341091d37245a42c119d26c5; version=6.4.11 <6.5; version=6.5; version=8da1b048f9a501d3d7d38c188ba09d7d0d5b8c27 <7cf055b43756b10aa2b851c927c940f5ed652125; version=bbdb3b65aa91aa0a32b212f27780b28987f2d94f <a995a68e8a3b48533e47c856865d109a1f1a9d01; version=d19e8bf3ea4114dd21fc35da21f398203d7f7df1 <ef99506eaf1dc31feff1adfcfd68bc5535a22171; version=ea3eb9f2192e4fc33b795673e56c97a21987f868 <7e5d732e6902eb6a37b35480796838a145ae5f07

Published CVSS scores

6.3CISACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
7.0OracleCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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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