Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2023-6377 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 27% 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-2023-6377 is an out-of-bounds memory access flaw in the xorg-server X11 implementation. The issue occurs when querying or modifying XKB button actions, such as during input device transitions between a touchpad and a mouse, and is tracked under CWE-125. It affects the core X server component used in most Linux graphical environments.
A local attacker with a valid X session can trigger the flaw to perform arbitrary reads and writes in the X server process, enabling local privilege escalation to root. When X11 forwarding is enabled over SSH or similar tunnels, the same primitive may be reachable remotely and can lead to code execution on the forwarded display server.
Red Hat has published multiple errata (RHSA-2023:7886 and the 2024:0006/0009/0010/0014 family) that deliver patched xorg-server packages for affected Enterprise Linux distributions; applying these updates is the primary mitigation.
EPSS for the CVE rose sharply from a low baseline to a peak of 0.3221 on 2025-01-22 before receding, indicating that meaningful exploitation interest developed well after the original disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-58618
Vulnerability Data
A flaw was found in xorg-server. Querying or changing XKB button actions such as moving from a touchpad to a mouse can result in out-of-bounds memory reads and writes. This may allow local privilege escalation or possible remote code execution…
more
in cases where X11 forwarding is involved.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Secure-development practices such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.
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.
Security testing in development and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.
Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe pointer arithmetic and mandate bounds-checked reads, eliminating CWE-125.