CVE-2023-29404 | Improper handling of non-optional LDFLAGS in go command with cgo in cmd/go

The go command may execute arbitrary code at build time when using cgo. This may occur when running "go get" on a malicious module, or when running any other command which builds untrusted code. This is can by triggered by linker flags, specified via a "#cgo LDFLAGS" directive. The arguments for a number of flags which are non-optional are incorrectly considered optional, allowing disallowed flags to be smuggled through the LDFLAGS sanitization. This affects usage of both the gc and gccgo compilers.

Published: 2023-06-08 Last update: 2025-01-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-29404 is rated Moderate Risk (44.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.08%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-29404

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 3.06% 0.08% -2.98%
2 2025-11-18 0.06% 3.06% +3.00%
3 2025-04-15 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (20 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-29404

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-29404

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-29404

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-29404: 1 source package rows (go); 75 state rows across 6 repos (3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 6, open 69. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-29404
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-29404 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (golang-1.15, golang-1.19), 2 status rows across 2 suites (bookworm, bullseye): open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-29404
gentoo high CVE-2023-29404: 1 GLSA(s) (202311-09), 1 atom(s) (dev-lang/go); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-29404
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-29404
ubuntu low CVE-2023-29404 low priority: Ubuntu including 12 source packages (golang, golang-1.10, …), 156 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 106, needs-triage 27, ignored 18, released 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-29404

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-29404

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
golang go < 1.19.10 cpe:2.3:a:golang:go:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
golang go >= 1.20.0, < 1.20.5 cpe:2.3:a:golang:go:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 38 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-29404

cvelogic Threat Intelligence