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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2023-2163

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2023-09-20
  • Fixed in6.2.13 · 6.1.26 · 5.15.109 · 5.10.179 · 5.4.242
  • WeaknessCWE-682

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Incorrect verifier pruning in BPF in Linux Kernel >=5.4 leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe, resulting in arbitrary read/write in kernel memory, lateral privilege escalation, and container escape.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-09-2006:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD
Linux linux kernel
BranchAffectedFixed in
6.2≥ 6.2, < 6.2.136.2.13
6.1≥ 5.16, < 6.1.266.1.26
5.x≥ 5.11, < 5.15.1095.15.109
5.x≥ 5.5, < 5.10.1795.10.179
5.x≥ 5.3, < 5.4.2425.4.242

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As Google, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Linux Kernelother versions: not affected
    Affected
    • < 71b547f561247897a0a14f3082730156c0533fedfixed in 71b547f561247897a0a14f3082730156c0533fedgit

    Not affected < 5.4

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2024-05-21

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • bpftoolTuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.2all versions · fixed in 7.0.0-284.30.1.el9_2.tuxcare.els2
  • bpftoolRed Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::baseosall versions · fixed in 0:7.0.0-284.48.1.el9_2and 1 other package
  • bpftool-debuginfoRed Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::crball versions · fixed in 0:7.0.0-284.48.1.el9_2
  • bpftool-debuginfoRed Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::appstreamall versions · fixed in 0:7.0.0-284.48.1.el9_2
  • dtb-aarch64openSUSE:Leap 15.5all versions · fixed in 5.14.21-150500.55.36.1and 10 other packages
  • dtb-aarch64openSUSE:Leap 15.4all versions · fixed in 5.14.21-150400.24.97.1and 10 other packages
  • dtb-aarch64openSUSE:Leap 15.4all versions · fixed in 5.3.18-150300.59.141.1
  • kernelTuxCare:CentOS:8.5all versions · fixed in 4.18.0-348.7.1.el8_5.tuxcare.els16and 21 other packages

183 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2023-2163 Red Hat Product Security1,258 products fixed

    kernel: bpf: Incorrect verifier pruning leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe

  • RHSA-2024:1306 Red Hat Product Security30 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update

  • RHSA-2024:1253 Red Hat Product Security35 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel live patch module security update

  • RHSA-2024:1250 Red Hat Product Security166 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update

  • RHSA-2024:0575 Red Hat Product Security120 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update

  • RHSA-2024:0593 Red Hat Product Security28 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update

14 more advisories

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Linux linux kernel to 6.2.13 · 6.1.26 · 5.15.109 · 5.10.179 · 5.4.242
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2024:1306 · 30 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258 The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2024:1253 · 35 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  4. Workaround from the vendor Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2024:1306 · 30 productsThe default Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel prevents unprivileged users from being able to use eBPF by the kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled sysctl. This would require a privileged user with CAP_SYS_ADMIN or root to be able to abuse this flaw reducing its attack space. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux …

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-01 01:02 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2025-02-26
  • CNACVSS 3.110known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.8read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-682known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-682read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score3.6 %2026-11-08
  • PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept1known since 2026-11-01
  • OSVaffected packages—

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2023-09-20
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-2163?

Incorrect verifier pruning in BPF in Linux Kernel >=5.4 leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe, resulting in arbitrary read/write in kernel memory, lateral privilege escalation, and container escape.

Is CVE-2023-2163 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-2163 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 3.6% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-2163?

CVE-2023-2163 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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