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

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.

Published: 2023-06-28 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-3390 is rated Moderate Risk (51.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.90%). 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-2023-3390

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 2026-06-15 0.13% 0.90% +0.77%
2 2025-03-30 0.58% 0.13% -0.45%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.58% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-3390

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-3390

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-3390

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-3390 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-3390
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3390
suse high — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-3390/
ubuntu high CVE-2023-3390 high priority: Ubuntu including 167 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner, …), 1970 status rows across 13 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1512, released 235, not-affected 117, ignored 106. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-3390

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-3390

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 3.16, < 4.14.322 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15, < 4.19.291 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.20, < 5.4.251 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.188 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.118 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.35 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.3.9 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp h300s — cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h300s:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp h410c — cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h410c:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp h410s — cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h410s:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp h500s — cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h500s:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp h700s — cpe:2.3:h:netapp:h700s:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-3390

cvelogic Threat Intelligence