Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-45199

Memory Safety in Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls 3.2.0 – 3.5.0

Memory Safety
Published
07 October 2023
Modified
05 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.011 61th percentile
Risk Priority 80 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-45199 is a critical-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 39% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

CVE-2023-45199 is a buffer overflow vulnerability classified under CWE-120 that affects Mbed TLS versions 3.2.x through 3.4.x before 3.5 and can lead to remote code execution. The issue received a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 reflecting its critical severity.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit the flaw over the network with no user interaction required, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target system.

The official Mbed TLS security advisory at https://mbed-tls.readthedocs.io/en/latest/security-advisories/mbedtls-security-advisory-2023-10-2/ addresses mitigation steps and patching. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at a peak of 0.0927 with no material increase observed after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Mbed TLS 3.2.x through 3.4.x before 3.5 has a Buffer Overflow that can lead to remote Code execution.

CWE(s)
CWE-120

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-45158Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2024-30166Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2026-34875Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2026-25833Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2026-34876Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2025-49601Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2024-49195Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2026-34873Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2024-23744Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls
CVE-2025-49087Same product: Trustedfirmware Mbed Tls

Affected Assets

trustedfirmware
mbed tls
3.2.0 — 3.5.0

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)
  • V5.2.1

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.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-120

Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.

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 development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

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.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.

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

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.

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

Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.

References