Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-32156

Race Condition in Tesla Model 3 Firmware 2023.6

Race Condition
Published
03 May 2024
Modified
13 August 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0043 36th percentile
Risk Priority 64 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-32156 is a high-severity Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367) vulnerability in Tesla Model 3 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 36th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Tesla Model 3 Gateway Firmware Signature Validation Bypass Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected Tesla Model 3 vehicles. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute privileged code on the Tesla infotainment system…

more

in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of firmware updates. The issue results from improper error-handling during the update process. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of Tesla's Gateway ECU. . Was ZDI-CAN-20734.

CWE(s)
CWE-367NVD-CWE-noinfo

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574 Hijack Execution Flow Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the way operating systems run programs.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-32157Same product: Tesla Model 3
CVE-2025-2082Same product: Tesla Model 3
CVE-2023-32155Same product: Tesla Model 3
CVE-2024-6029Same vendor: Tesla
CVE-2023-28075Shared CWE-367
CVE-2024-1563Shared CWE-367
CVE-2026-57973Shared CWE-367
CVE-2024-27238Shared CWE-367
CVE-2024-21362Shared CWE-367
CVE-2026-34224Shared CWE-367

Affected Assets

tesla
model 3 firmware
2023.6

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)
  • V15.4.2
  • V17.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-25 Reference Monitor good match

A reference monitor that is always invoked and analyzable structurally eliminates the non-atomic check-then-use pattern underlying TOCTOU.

AC-3 Access Enforcement partial match

Access enforcement that performs an atomic check-and-use decision directly stops the window in which a TOCTOU race can be exploited.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation limits the blast radius of a successful TOCTOU exploitation but does not remove the race itself.

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 include coding standards and reviews that prevent TOCTOU race conditions.

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.8.17 Clock synchronization none match
none

Reliable, synchronized time across systems narrows the exploitable window in which a resource state can change between a security check and its use.

References