Glibc: heap-based buffer overflow in __vsyslog_internal()
Priority HIGH 72CWE-122Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-122 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
A heap-based buffer overflow was found in the __vsyslog_internal function of the glibc library. This function is called by the syslog and vsyslog functions. This issue occurs when the openlog function was not called, or called with the ident argument set to NULL, and the program name (the basename of argv[0]) is bigger than 1024 bytes, resulting in an application crash or local privilege escalation. This issue affects glibc 2.36 and newer.
Why it matters now
Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.04794 91st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 6 exploit referencesTagged by NVD
Fix Fixed glibc: 2.39
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | glibc | — | 2.39 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Fedora | Fedora | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- glibc Vendor— Affected — Fixed in 2.39 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Fedora VendorFedora Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:gnu:glibc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.36 to before 2.39 | Vulnerable | GNU |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 38 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 39 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
- cpe:2.3:a:gnu:glibc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.36 to before 2.39 Vulnerable ·GNU
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 38 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 39 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
Remediation
- Fix · CNA glibc Fixed in 2.39
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-6246
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p6rw-gvvh-q8v4
References
Exploit 6
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176931/glibc-qsort-Out-Of-Bounds-Read-Write.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176932/glibc-syslog-Heap-Based-Buffer-Overflow.html
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Feb/3
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Feb/5
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/01/30/6
- https://www.qualys.com/2024/01/30/cve-2023-6246/syslog.txt
Advisory 3
More Red Hat vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-15875 Protection mechanism failure in Jenkins Pipeline: Groovy Plugin KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2019-15874 Protection mechanism failure in Jenkins Script Security Plugin KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2019-08259 Underflow in PHP-FPM can lead to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-05363 Code injection in Elastic Kibana KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2019-03949 Out-of-bounds write in ESXi and Horizon DaaS KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-16080 A code execution vulnerability exists in the Stapler web framework used by Jenkins 2.153… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2023-6246 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-6246 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-p6rw-gvvh-q8v4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-6246 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences