Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-28501

Memory Safety in Rocketsoftware Universe ≤ 11.3.5

Memory Safety
Published
29 March 2023
Modified
18 February 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.014 70th percentile
Risk Priority 78 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-28501 is a critical-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Rocketsoftware Universe. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 30% 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.

Rocket Software UniData versions prior to 8.2.4 build 3003 and UniVerse versions prior to 11.3.5 build 1001 or 12.2.1 build 2002 contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the unirpcd daemon, tracked as CVE-2023-28501 with a CVSS score of 9.8 and associated with CWE-190. The flaw resides in the RPC server component used by these multi-value database products and permits memory corruption when specially crafted network input is processed.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted packets directly to the unirpcd service over the network to trigger the overflow, resulting in arbitrary code execution with root privileges on the affected host. No user interaction or prior authentication is required, and the attack surface is exposed whenever the daemon listens on its default network port.

Public advisories from Rapid7 detail that the issues were addressed by the vendor through the release of the specific patched builds listed above, and they recommend immediate upgrade of both UniData and UniVerse installations. The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0514 before receding to its current value of 0.0196, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Rocket Software UniData versions prior to 8.2.4 build 3003 and UniVerse versions prior to 11.3.5 build 1001 or 12.2.1 build 2002 suffer from a heap-based buffer overflow in the unirpcd daemon that, if successfully exploited, can lead to remote code…

more

execution as the root user.

CWE(s)
CWE-190

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-28505Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28506Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28502Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28504Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28508Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28503Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28509Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28507Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-49994Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-43838Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

rocketsoftware
unidata
≤ 8.2.4
rocketsoftware
universe
≤ 11.3.5 · 12.0.0 — 12.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.6

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 require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

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 integer overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

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

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References