CVE-2023-29405 | Improper sanitization of LDFLAGS with embedded spaces 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. Flags containing embedded spaces are mishandled, allowing disallowed flags to be smuggled through the LDFLAGS sanitization by including them in the argument of another flag. This only affects usage of the gccgo compiler.

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-2023-29405 is rated Moderate Risk (59.5/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.35%). 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-2023-29405

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 2026-06-09 0.33% 0.35% +0.03%
2 2025-11-21 3.06% 0.33% -2.73%
3 2025-11-18 — 3.06% —

Full EPSS history (16 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-29405

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-2023-29405

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-29405

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-29405: 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-2023-29405
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-29405 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-2023-29405
gentoo high CVE-2023-29405: 1 GLSA(s) (202311-09), 1 atom(s) (dev-lang/go); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-29405
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-29405
ubuntu low CVE-2023-29405 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-2023-29405

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-29405

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-2023-29405

cvelogic Threat Intelligence