Security Resilience

CVE-2023-46724

Memory Safety in Squid-Cache Squid 3.3.0.1 – 6.4

Published
01 November 2023
Modified
13 February 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:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.040 90th percentile
Risk Priority 67 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-2023-46724 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Squid-Cache Squid. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 10% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Squid is a caching proxy for the Web. Due to an Improper Validation of Specified Index bug, Squid versions 3.3.0.1 through 5.9 and 6.0 prior to 6.4 compiled using `--with-openssl` are vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack against SSL…

more

Certificate validation. This problem allows a remote server to perform Denial of Service against Squid Proxy by initiating a TLS Handshake with a specially crafted SSL Certificate in a server certificate chain. This attack is limited to HTTPS and SSL-Bump. This bug is fixed in Squid version 6.4. In addition, patches addressing this problem for the stable releases can be found in Squid's patch archives. Those who you use a prepackaged version of Squid should refer to the package vendor for availability information on updated packages.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-49285Same product: Squid-Cache Squid
CVE-2026-33515Same product: Squid-Cache Squid
CVE-2026-31962Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-55209Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-30982Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-102757Shared CWE-125, CWE-823
CVE-2026-0799Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-22859Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-31966Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-70634Shared CWE-125, CWE-129

Affected Assets

squid-cache
squid
3.3.0.1 — 6.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 13 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V2.1.1
  • V2.2.1
  • V2.2.2
  • V5.3.3

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-295

When certificates are used to establish component provenance, the control requires correct certificate validation procedures.

addresses: CWE-295

Mandates approved trust anchors and issuance policies, directly preventing acceptance of unvalidated or untrusted certificates.

addresses: CWE-295

Correct system time is required for proper enforcement of certificate notBefore/notAfter dates and time-based revocation checks.

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.

ID.RA-09 partial match
blocks

Assessing authenticity/integrity of acquired software often relies on code-signing certificate validation.

PR.AA-03 partial match
blocks

Certificate-based authentication of users/services/hardware directly depends on correct validation.

PR.AA-04 partial match
blocks

Identity assertions conveyed via certificates require validation to be verified.

PR.DS-02 partial match
blocks

Proper certificate validation is a core mechanism for protecting data-in-transit confidentiality and integrity.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

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` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (3 rules)
  • V-248574 YUM must be configured to prevent the installation of patches, service packs, device drivers, or OL 8 system components that have not been digitally signed using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
  • V-248531 OL 8, for PKI-based authentication, must validate certificates by constructing a certification path (which includes status information) to an accepted trust anchor. blocks CWE-295
  • V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
  • V-204447 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
  • V-204448 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
  • V-230264 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
  • V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. blocks CWE-295
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220726 Data Execution Prevention (DEP) must be configured to at least OptOut. blocks CWE-823

References