Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-31129

Memory Safety in Contiki-Ng ≤ 4.8

Published
08 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0064 48th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-31129 is a high-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 48th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The Contiki-NG operating system versions 4.8 and prior can be triggered to dereference a NULL pointer in the message handling code for IPv6 router solicitiations. Contiki-NG contains an implementation of IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (ND) in the module `os/net/ipv6/uip-nd6.c`. The ND…

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protocol includes a message type called Router Solicitation (RS), which is used to locate routers and update their address information via the SLLAO (Source Link-Layer Address Option). If the indicated source address changes, a given neighbor entry is set to the STALE state. The message handler does not check for RS messages with an SLLAO that indicates a link-layer address change that a neighbor entry can actually be created for the indicated address. The resulting pointer is used without a check, leading to the dereference of a NULL pointer of type `uip_ds6_nbr_t`. The problem has been patched in the `develop` branch of Contiki-NG, and will be included in the upcoming 4.9 release. As a workaround, users can apply Contiki-NG pull request #2271 to patch the problem directly.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
T1489 Service Stop Impact
Adversaries may stop or disable services on a system to render those services unavailable to legitimate users.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-29001Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-50927Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2024-41125Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2024-47181Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-30546Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-37459Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-48229Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-34100Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-37281Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng
CVE-2023-23609Same product: Contiki-Ng Contiki-Ng

Affected Assets

contiki-ng
contiki-ng
≤ 4.8

Mitigating Controls

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 (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.

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 can detect NULL dereference defects before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.

References