# CVE-2023-6238: Kernel: nvme: memory corruption via unprivileged user passthrough

> A buffer overflow in the Linux kernel NVMe driver allows privileged users to corrupt kernel memory, causing crashes or potential privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 17 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2023-6238, GHSA-2j83-334m-g9w4, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2023-6238, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2023-6238, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-6238

## What is CVE-2023-6238?

CVE-2023-6238 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 21 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A buffer overflow vulnerability was found in the NVM Express (NVMe) driver in the Linux kernel. Only privileged user could specify a small meta buffer and let the device perform larger Direct Memory Access (DMA) into the same buffer, overwriting unrelated kernel memory, causing random kernel crashes and memory corruption.

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-6238?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-6238?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-6238 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6238 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39226/): Grafana Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-5544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5544/): VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4947/): Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4671/): Google Chromium Visuals Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-6238 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-6238 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 21 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6238 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fedoraproject Fedora. 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-2023-6238/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6238/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6238
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6238
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-6238

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6238/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.