← Back to catalog

GNU · GNU C Library

CVE-2023-4911

GNU C Library Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CISA KEV record

CISA date added
2023-11-21
CISA due date
2023-12-12
Known ransomware use
Unknown

NVD risk context

7.8 HIGH

CVSS is a technical severity score. CISA’s KEV status remains the evidence that this vulnerability is known to be exploited.

View NVD record ↗
Attack vector
Local
An attacker needs local access to the affected system.
Attack complexity
Low
Exploitation does not require unusual conditions beyond normal attacker control.
Privileges required
Low
The attacker needs limited privileges before exploiting the issue.
User interaction
None
No action by another user is required.

Description

GNU C Library's dynamic loader ld.so contains a buffer overflow vulnerability when processing the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable, allowing a local attacker to execute code with elevated privileges.

Required action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

NVD reference index

Vendor and remediation references

NVD has tagged these sources as vendor advisories, patches, mitigations, or release notes.

Other NVD references (29)

MITRE CWE context

CWE classification

CWE-122 Heap-based Buffer Overflow

A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().

View official MITRE CWE details ↗

NVD record timing

NVD record timeline

These dates describe NVD’s record, not CISA’s KEV addition or remediation due date.

NVD published
Oct 03, 2023, 06:15 PM UTC
When NVD first published this CVE record.
NVD last updated
Jun 17, 2026, 06:38 AM UTC
When NVD last changed its analysis or record data.
Advanced: view the technical CVSS vector

This standardized code is intended for security tools and technical analysts. The plain-language risk summary above explains its main points.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

View NVD record ↗

CISA notes

This vulnerability affects a common open-source component, third-party library, or a protocol used by different products. Please check with specific vendors for information on patching status. For more information, please see: https://sourceware.org/git/?p=glibc.git;a=commitdiff;h=1056e5b4c3f2d90ed2b4a55f96add28da2f4c8fa, https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2023-4911, https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5514 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-4911