Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-30534

Deserialization in Fedoraproject Fedora 37 … 38

Public PoCDeserialization
Published
05 September 2023
Modified
11 April 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.026 84th percentile
Risk Priority 70 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-30534 is a medium-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 16% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

Cacti, an open source operational monitoring and fault management framework, contains two instances of insecure deserialization in version 1.2.24. The flaws stem from direct use of PHP’s unserialize function on unsanitized user input in graphs_new.php within the host_new_graphs_save function, bypassing the application’s own safe deserialization routine. Although a gadget chain exists in the phpseclib library shipped in the vendor directory, the required gadgets are absent, rendering the deserializations non-exploitable in practice. The issue is tracked as CWE-502 and received a CVSS 3.1 score of 4.3.

An authenticated user with network access can supply crafted serialized data to the affected endpoint, but the missing gadgets prevent any meaningful object injection or subsequent code execution. The vulnerability therefore yields at most limited confidentiality impact under the stated attack vector.

The project addressed the issue in release 1.2.25. Administrators are advised to upgrade; no workarounds are documented. Public advisories, including the GitHub Security Advisory and downstream Fedora notices, reiterate the upgrade path and confirm the non-exploitable status due to absent gadgets.

The associated EPSS score has remained in the 0.52–0.55 range without a pronounced post-disclosure climb from a low baseline.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Cacti is an open source operational monitoring and fault management framework. There are two instances of insecure deserialization in Cacti version 1.2.24. While a viable gadget chain exists in Cacti’s vendor directory (phpseclib), the necessary gadgets are not included, making…

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them inaccessible and the insecure deserializations not exploitable. Each instance of insecure deserialization is due to using the unserialize function without sanitizing the user input. Cacti has a “safe” deserialization that attempts to sanitize the content and check for specific values before calling unserialize, but it isn’t used in these instances. The vulnerable code lies in graphs_new.php, specifically within the host_new_graphs_save function. This issue has been addressed in version 1.2.25. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-25641Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39357Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2024-31459Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39365Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2024-31445Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39361Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2024-31460Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39358Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2023-39359Same product: Cacti Cacti
CVE-2024-31458Same product: Cacti Cacti

Affected Assets

cacti
cacti
≤ 1.2.25
fedoraproject
fedora
37, 38

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-502

Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.

addresses: CWE-502

Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.

addresses: CWE-502

Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.

addresses: CWE-502

Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.

addresses: CWE-502

Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.

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-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

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.

finds

Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.

prevents

Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.

finds

Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.

none

Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.

References