CVE-2023-5178 | Kernel: use after free in nvmet_tcp_free_crypto in nvme

A use-after-free vulnerability was found in drivers/nvme/target/tcp.c` in `nvmet_tcp_free_crypto` due to a logical bug in the NVMe/TCP subsystem in the Linux kernel. This issue may allow a malicious user to cause a use-after-free and double-free problem, which may permit remote code execution or lead to local privilege escalation.

Published: 2023-11-01 Last update: 2026-03-24 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-5178 is rated High Risk (67.3/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 8.11%, 92th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2023-5178

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 2026-06-07 8.31% 8.11% -0.20%
2 2026-05-25 8.11% 8.31% +0.20%
3 2026-05-22 — 8.11% —

Full EPSS history (64 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-5178

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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: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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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: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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-5178

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-5178

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-5178 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-2023-5178
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5178
suse high — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5178/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-5178 medium priority: Ubuntu including 167 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner, …), 1873 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1428, released 197, ignored 125, not-affected 121, needs-triage 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-5178

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-5178

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.0, < 5.4.260 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.199 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.137 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.60 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.5.9 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
netapp solidfire_\&_hci_management_node — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:solidfire_\&_hci_management_node:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp solidfire_\&_hci_storage_node — cpe:2.3:a:netapp:solidfire_\&_hci_storage_node:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-5178

URL Tags
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7370 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7379 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7418 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7548 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7549 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7551 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7554 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7557 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:7559 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0340 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0378 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0386 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0412 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0431 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0432 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0461 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0554 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0575 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1268 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1269 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1278 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5178 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2241924 Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-nvme/[email protected]/ Mailing List Patch Vendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/01/msg00005.html
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231208-0004/
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