Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-2725

Memory Safety in Fedoraproject Fedora 37 … 38

Memory Safety
Published
16 May 2023
Modified
05 May 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.25 98th percentile
Risk Priority 78 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-2725 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-2725 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Guest View component of Google Chrome versions prior to 113.0.5672.126. The flaw, assigned CWE-416, can result in heap corruption when triggered through a specially crafted HTML page and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8.

An attacker who first persuades a victim to install a malicious extension can then supply the crafted page, enabling remote exploitation that may achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the Chrome process. User interaction is required, but no additional privileges are needed beyond the initial extension installation.

Chrome stable-channel updates released on 16 May 2023 address the issue, and downstream distributions such as Fedora and Gentoo have published corresponding package advisories that recommend upgrading to the fixed Chrome version.

EPSS scores for the CVE have remained low, reaching a peak of 0.1127 in December 2025 before receding to the current value of 0.0890.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Use after free in Guest View in Google Chrome prior to 113.0.5672.126 allowed an attacker who convinced a user to install a malicious extension to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-2723Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-5187Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4572Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2021-37973Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4430Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2021-37975Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-3217Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4429Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-6510Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-5852Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

google
chrome
≤ 113.0.5672.126
debian
debian linux
11.0
fedoraproject
fedora
37, 38

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

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.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References