An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:libreswan:libreswan:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.0 to before 4.0; 4.0 to before 4.12 | Vulnerable | The Libreswan Project |
- cpe:2.3:a:libreswan:libreswan:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.0 to before 4.0; 4.0 to before 4.12 Vulnerable ·The Libreswan Project
Remediation
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2025:0309 Released 2025-01-14 · Red Hat rating Moderatelibreswan security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) libreswan-4.9-5.el9_2.4
- RHSA-2024:10594 Released 2024-12-02 · Red Hat rating Moderatelibreswan security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) libreswan-4.6-3.el9_0.3
- RHSA-2023:7052 Released 2023-11-14 · Red Hat rating Moderatelibreswan security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) libreswan-4.12-2.el8
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2023:6549 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Moderatelibreswan security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) libreswan-4.12-1.el9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:7052 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:6549 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:10594 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:0309 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.15 | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.16 | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17 | Fixed | — |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-38712
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-65xr-g9j5-jv8g
References
More The Libreswan Project Libreswan vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-09114 Libreswan 4.9 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (assert failure and… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2013-05949 Race condition in the libreswan.spec files for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Fedora… CVSS 2.0HIGH 9.3
- TI-2023-02152 Uncontrolled resource consumption in libreswan CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-37395 IKEv2 Denial of Service via RSA-SHA1 (PKCS#1 RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5) authentication payload CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-37394 IKEv1 Denial of Service via RSA-SHA1 (PKCS#1 Version 1.5 Encrypted) authentication payload CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2023-14401 pluto in Libreswan before 4.11 allows a denial of service (responder SPI mishandling and… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2023-38712 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-38712 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-65xr-g9j5-jv8g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-38712 · 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