Cyber 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

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 Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557); 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

T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
T1557.002 ARP Cache Poisoning Credential Access
Adversaries may poison Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) caches to position themselves between the communication of two or more networked devices.
T1557.003 DHCP Spoofing Credential Access
Adversaries may redirect network traffic to adversary-owned systems by spoofing Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) traffic and acting as a malicious DHCP server on the victim network.
T1557.004 Evil Twin Credential Access
Adversaries may host seemingly genuine Wi-Fi access points to deceive users into connecting to malicious networks as a way of supporting follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-33515Same product: Squid-Cache Squid
CVE-2023-49285Same product: Squid-Cache Squid
CVE-2024-42395Shared CWE-295
CVE-2024-30020Shared CWE-295
CVE-2024-29050Shared CWE-295
CVE-2022-20703Shared CWE-295
CVE-2024-41928Shared CWE-125, CWE-1285
CVE-2026-31962Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2026-70634Shared CWE-125, CWE-129
CVE-2024-10496Shared CWE-125, CWE-1285

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)
  • 14 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.2
  • V2.1.1
  • V2.2.1
  • V2.2.2

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.

PR.AA-03 mostly match
prevents

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

PR.DS-02 mostly match
prevents

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

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

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

ID.RA-09 partial match
prevents

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

PR.AA-04 partial match
prevents

Identity assertions conveyed via certificates require validation to be verified.

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 and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.

prevents

Requiring issuance and validation of public-key certificates under an approved policy reduces the chance that certificates with improper validation will be trusted.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

prevents

Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.

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 (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. prevents 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. prevents 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. prevents 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. prevents 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. prevents 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. prevents 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. prevents CWE-295
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220726 Data Execution Prevention (DEP) must be configured to at least OptOut. prevents CWE-823

References