CVE-2023-4244 Use-after-free in Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component

What is CVE-2023-4244?

CVE-2023-4244 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 6 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.

Due to a race condition between nf_tables netlink control plane transaction and nft_set element garbage collection, it is possible to underflow the reference counter causing a use-after-free vulnerability.

We recommend upgrading past commit 3e91b0ebd994635df2346353322ac51ce84ce6d8.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-4244?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2023-4244?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2023-4244 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-4244 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

• CVE-2015-3306 ProFTPD Improper Access Control Exploited Critical 10.0
• CVE-2025-49113 RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data Exploited Critical 9.9
• CVE-2026-24061 GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2025-39682 Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2024-9680 Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free Exploited Critical 9.8

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as AZL-28676, BELL-CVE-2023-4244, CVE-2023-4563, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-4244, GHSA-396p-373f-r9vm, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4244.