What is CVE-2023-5197?

CVE-2023-5197 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 6.6 out of 10, classified as a Use After Free flaw (CWE-416). CVE-2023-5197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-5197?

CVE-2023-5197 has a CVSS score of 6.6 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-5197?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2023-5197. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2023-5197 actively exploited?

CVE-2023-5197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Use After Free (CWE-416)?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html

CVE-2023-5197

Medium

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. Addition and removal of rules from chain bindings within the same transaction causes leads to use-after-free. We recommend upgrading past commit f15f29fd4779be8a418b66e9d52979bb6d6c2325.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2023-09-27

Last modified 2025-12-11

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

6.6

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-416

CVE-2023-5197 is a Use After Free vulnerability

What is Use After Free?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-5197 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Packet Storm
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/175963/Kernel-Live-Patch-Security-Notice-LSN-0099-1.html

Third Party Advisory
Debian Security
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00005.html

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=f15f29fd4779be8a418b66e9d52979bb6d6c2325
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://kernel.dance/f15f29fd4779be8a418b66e9d52979bb6d6c2325
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2023-5197

Severity Medium

CVSS score 6.6 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2023-09-27

Modified 2025-12-11

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-5197?

CVE-2023-5197 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 6.6 out of 10 , classified as an Use After Free flaw (CWE-416) . CVE-2023-5197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-5197?

CVE-2023-5197 has a CVSS score of 6.6 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-5197?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2023-5197. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2023-5197 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2023-5197 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Use After Free (CWE-416)?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. View CWE-416 on MITRE CWE →