Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-42459

Memory Safety in Eprosima Fast Dds ≤ 2.6.7

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
16 October 2023
Modified
11 April 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0083 54th percentile
Risk Priority 65 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-42459 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) vulnerability in Eprosima Fast Dds. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked in the top 46% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Fast DDS is a C++ implementation of the DDS (Data Distribution Service) standard of the OMG (Object Management Group). In affected versions specific DATA submessages can be sent to a discovery locator which may trigger a free error. This can…

more

remotely crash any Fast-DDS process. The call to free() could potentially leave the pointer in the attackers control which could lead to a double free. This issue has been addressed in versions 2.12.0, 2.11.3, 2.10.3, and 2.6.7. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
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.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-50716Same product: Eprosima Fast Dds
CVE-2024-3187Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2025-65955Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2026-13713Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2025-20781Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2025-27730Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2023-1999Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2023-52795Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2026-53009Shared CWE-415, CWE-416
CVE-2025-26640Shared CWE-415, CWE-416

Affected Assets

eprosima
fast dds
≤ 2.6.7 · 2.10.0 — 2.10.3 · 2.11.0 — 2.11.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 4 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

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-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

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 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent double-free errors via static analysis, safe memory APIs, and testing.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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 in development can detect double-free conditions before release.

prevents

Secure development life cycle includes memory-safety practices that can prevent double-free bugs.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate memory-safety rules that reduce double-free risk.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles can prescribe safe memory-management patterns.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly address proper use of free() and similar functions.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248590 OL 8 must clear the page allocator to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-415
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References