CVE-2023-42459 | Malformed DATA submessage leads to bad-free error in Fast-DDS

Exp

Fast DDS is a C++ implementation of the DDS (Data Distribution Service) standard of the OMG (Object Management Group). In affected versions specific DATA submessages can be sent to a discovery locator which may trigger a free error. This can remotely crash any Fast-DDS process. The call to free() could potentially leave the pointer in the attackers control which could lead to a double free. This issue has been addressed in versions 2.12.0, 2.11.3, 2.10.3, and 2.6.7. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-10-16 Last update: 2025-04-11 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-42459 is rated High Exploit Risk (64.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.22%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-42459

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-42459

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 2026-03-24 0.29% 0.22% -0.07%
2 2025-11-21 0.76% 0.29% -0.47%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.76% —

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-42459

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 4.7 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-42459

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-42459

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2023-42459 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (fastdds), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-42459
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-42459 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (fastdds), 12 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 4, ignored 4, needs-triage 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-42459

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-42459

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
eprosima fast_dds < 2.6.7 cpe:2.3:a:eprosima:fast_dds:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
eprosima fast_dds >= 2.10.0, < 2.10.3 cpe:2.3:a:eprosima:fast_dds:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
eprosima fast_dds >= 2.11.0, <= 2.11.1 cpe:2.3:a:eprosima:fast_dds:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-42459

cvelogic Threat Intelligence