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CVE-2023-0045

4.7 · MEDIUM

The current implementation of the prctl syscall does not issue an IBPB immediately during the syscall.

Published Apr 25, 2023CWE-610EPSS 2.40%

Overview

CVE-2023-0045 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on April 25, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.7 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.7, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

The current implementation of the prctl syscall does not issue an IBPB immediately during the syscall. The ib_prctl_set  function updates the Thread Information Flags (TIFs) for the task and updates the SPEC_CTRL MSR on the function __speculation_ctrl_update, but the IBPB is only issued on the next schedule, when the TIF bits are checked. This leaves the victim vulnerable to values already injected on the BTB, prior to the prctl syscall.  The patch that added the support for the conditional mitigation via prctl (ib_prctl_set) dates back to the kernel 4.9.176.

We recommend upgrading past commit a664ec9158eeddd75121d39c9a0758016097fa96

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-0045?

CVE-2023-0045 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on April 25, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.7 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-0045?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.7, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-0045?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-0045?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-0045 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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