# CVE-2023-36054: Use after free in n/a

> A remote authenticated user can crash the kadmind service by triggering a use-after-free vulnerability in the Kerberos administration daemon.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 11 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2023-36054, AZL-27874, BELL-CVE-2023-36054, CLSA-2023-1700160468, CLSA-2023-1700161076, CLSA-2024-1720178212, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-36054, DLA-3626-1, GHSA-39q6-4vrm-fv3g, JLSEC-2026-92, OESA-2023-1526, OESA-2023-1527, OESA-2023-1528, OESA-2023-1555, OESA-2023-1556, SUSE-SU-2023:3325-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3363-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3365-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3398-1, SUSE-SU-2023:3434-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-36054, USN-6467-1, USN-6467-2, openSUSE-SU-2024:13050-1

## What is CVE-2023-36054?

CVE-2023-36054 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 7 Aug 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

lib/kadm5/kadm_rpc_xdr.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) before 1.20.2 and 1.21.x before 1.21.1 frees an uninitialized pointer. A remote authenticated user can trigger a kadmind crash. This occurs because _xdr_kadm5_principal_ent_rec does not validate the relationship between n_key_data and the key_data array count.

Weakness: CWE-824 (Access of Uninitialized Pointer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-36054?

It affects 7 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | All versions | 1.20.1-150500.3.3.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15 SP4 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Server Applications 15 SP5 | All versions | 1.20.1-150500.3.3.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 1.12.5-40.52.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.52.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.52.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 1.16.3-150100.3.30.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.12.5-40.52.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Manager Proxy 4.2 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | SUSE:Manager Server 4.2 | All versions | 1.19.2-150300.13.1 |
| `krb5` | openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | openSUSE:Leap 15.5 | All versions | 1.20.1-150500.3.3.1 |
| `krb5` | openSUSE:Leap Micro 5.3 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | openSUSE:Leap Micro 5.4 | All versions | 1.19.2-150400.3.6.1 |
| `krb5` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.21.1-1.1 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Mit Kerberos 5, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap, Netapp Hci, Netapp Management Services for Element Software, Netapp Ontap Tools.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-36054?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-36054 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-36054 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-36054 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-36054 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 7 Aug 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-36054 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36054/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36054/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-36054
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36054
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-36054

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-36054/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.