CVE-2023-32251 | Kernel: ksmbd brute force delay bypass via asynchronous requests

A vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's ksmbd component (kernel SMB/CIFS server). A security control designed to prevent dictionary attacks, which introduces a 5-second delay during session setup, can be bypassed through the use of asynchronous requests. This bypass negates the intended anti-brute-force protection, potentially allowing attackers to conduct dictionary attacks more efficiently against user credentials or other authentication mechanisms.

Published: 2025-07-31 Last update: 2026-04-15 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-32251 is rated Low Risk (20.4/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2023-32251

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 2026-05-21 0.05% 0.05% +0.00%
2 2026-05-19 0.08% 0.05% -0.04%
3 2025-11-21 0.08%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-32251

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.7 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
2.2 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-32251

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-32251

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-32251 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 4, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-32251
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-32251
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-32251 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 156, released 124, not-affected 74, needed 42, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-32251

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-32251

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2023-32251

cvelogic Threat Intelligence