Security Resilience

CVE-2023-23609

Memory Safety in Contiki-Ng ≤ 4.8

Published
26 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0035 27th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-23609 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Security Account Manager (T1003.002); ranked at the 27th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Contiki-NG is an open-source, cross-platform operating system for Next-Generation IoT devices. Versions prior to and including 4.8 are vulnerable to an out-of-bounds write that can occur in the BLE-L2CAP module. The Bluetooth Low Energy - Logical Link Control and Adaptation…

more

Layer Protocol (BLE-L2CAP) module handles fragmentation of packets up the configured MTU size. When fragments are reassembled, they are stored in a packet buffer of a configurable size, but there is no check to verify that the packet buffer is large enough to hold the reassembled packet. In Contiki-NG's default configuration, it is possible that an out-of-bounds write of up to 1152 bytes occurs. The vulnerability has been patched in the "develop" branch of Contiki-NG, and will be included in release 4.9. The problem can be fixed by applying the patch in Contiki-NG pull request #2254 prior to the release of version 4.9.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-48229Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-28116Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2024-45144Shared CWE-787
CVE-2024-45026Shared CWE-787
CVE-2025-21735Shared CWE-787
CVE-2025-27363Shared CWE-787
CVE-2023-2929Shared CWE-787
CVE-2024-12248Shared CWE-787
CVE-2023-46224Shared CWE-787
CVE-2024-50230Shared CWE-787

Affected Assets

contiki-ng
contiki-ng
≤ 4.8

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-787

Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

References