Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-3212

Memory Safety in Debian Linux 10.0 … 12.0

Memory Safety
Published
23 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0026 18th percentile
Risk Priority 35 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-2023-3212 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux. Its CVSS base score is 4.4 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 18th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A NULL pointer dereference issue was found in the gfs2 file system in the Linux kernel. It occurs on corrupt gfs2 file systems when the evict code tries to reference the journal descriptor structure after it has been freed and…

more

set to NULL. A privileged local user could use this flaw to cause a kernel panic.

CWE(s)
CWE-476

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.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1489 Service Stop Impact
Adversaries may stop or disable services on a system to render those services unavailable to legitimate users.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-32252Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-28466Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2898Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2953Same product: Netapp H300S
CVE-2023-32248Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-2269Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-33600Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4273Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-3338Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-52585Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
6.4 · ≤ 6.4
fedoraproject
fedora
38
redhat
enterprise linux
8.0, 9.0
debian
debian linux
10.0, 11.0, 12.0
netapp
h300s firmware
all versions
netapp
h500s firmware
all versions
netapp
h700s firmware
all versions
netapp
h410s firmware
all versions
netapp
h410c firmware
all versions

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.

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

Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

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

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

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

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

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

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

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

References