CVE DATABASE / CVE-2023-4911
CVE-2023-4911
GNU C Library Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2023-11-21.
Federal remediation due 2023-12-12.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Summary
A buffer overflow was discovered in the GNU C Library's dynamic loader ld.so while processing the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable. This issue could allow a local attacker to use maliciously crafted GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variables when launching binaries with SUID permission to execute code with elevated privileges.
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| Base score | 7.8 (HIGH) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack vector | LOCAL |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | LOW |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
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References
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5453
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5454
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5455
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5476
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0033
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4911
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2238352
- https://www.qualys.com/2023/10/03/cve-2023-4911/looney-tunables-local-privilege-escalation-glibc-ld-so.txt
- https://www.qualys.com/cve-2023-4911/
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174986/glibc-ld.so-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176288/Glibc-Tunables-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Oct/11
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/03/2
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/03/3
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/05/1
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2026-05-12. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.