CVE-2023-7192 Kernel: refcount leak in ctnetlink_create_conntrack()

What is CVE-2023-7192?

CVE-2023-7192 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 2 Jan 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A memory leak problem was found in ctnetlink_create_conntrack in net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c in the Linux Kernel. This issue may allow a local attacker with CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges to cause a denial of service (DoS) attack due to a refcount overflow.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-7192?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Linux kernel, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2023-7192?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2023-7192 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-7192 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

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

Also known as AZL-32316, BELL-CVE-2023-7192, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-7192, GHSA-mmc5-hgpc-m8q5, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-7192, USN-6645-1.