CVE-2023-35838 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2023-35838
Vulnerability Scoring

5.7
/10
Significant Risk

Security assessments indicate that CVE-2023-35838 presents a notable risk, potentially requiring prompt mitigation.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Adjacent_network
    Attack Vector Under Analysis
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: Required
    User interaction is necessary for successful exploitation.

CVE-2023-35838 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕗 21 Nov 2024, 08:08 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 09 Aug 2023, 23:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 469 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

nvd@nist.gov

CVSS3 Type

Primary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVE-2023-35838 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2023-35838: The WireGuard client 0.5.3 on Windows insecurely configures the operating system and firewall such that traffic to a local network that uses non-RFC1918 IP addresses is blocked. This allows an adversary to trick the victim into blocking IP traffic to selected IP addresses and services even while the VPN is enabled. NOTE: the tunnelcrack.mathyvanhoef.com website uses this CVE ID to refer more generally to "LocalNet attack resulting in the blocking of traffic" rather than to only WireGuard.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2023-35838

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2023-35838 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2023-35838

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2023-35838 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2023-35838, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2023-35838, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2023-35838 has no significant impact on data confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2023-35838 poses no threat to data integrity.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2023-35838 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.075% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 35.82% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 64.18% of others.

CVE-2023-35838 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-610

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • XML Routing Detour Attacks CAPEC-219 An attacker subverts an intermediate system used to process XML content and forces the intermediate to modify and/or re-route the processing of the content. XML Routing Detour Attacks are Adversary in the Middle type attacks (CAPEC-94). The attacker compromises or inserts an intermediate system in the processing of the XML message. For example, WS-Routing can be used to specify a series of nodes or intermediaries through which content is passed. If any of the intermediate nodes in this route are compromised by an attacker they could be used for a routing detour attack. From the compromised system the attacker is able to route the XML process to other nodes of their choice and modify the responses so that the normal chain of processing is unaware of the interception. This system can forward the message to an outside entity and hide the forwarding and processing from the legitimate processing systems by altering the header information.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:wireguard:wireguard:0.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:wireguard:wireguard:0.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2023-35838: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2025-4287 – A vulnerability was found in PyTorch 2.6.0+cu124. It has been rated as problematic. Affected by this issue is the function torch.cuda.nccl.reduce o...
  • CVE-2025-4286 – A vulnerability was found in Intelbras InControl up to 2.21.59. It has been classified as problematic. Affected is an unknown function of the compo...
  • CVE-2025-46813 – Discourse is an open-source community platform. A data leak vulnerability affects sites deployed between commits 10df7fdee060d44accdee7679d66d778d1...
  • CVE-2025-46734 – league/commonmark is a PHP Markdown parser. A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Attributes extension of the league/commonmark library...
  • CVE-2025-46731 – Craft is a content management system. Versions of Craft CMS on the 4.x branch prior to 4.14.13 and on the 5.x branch prior to 5.6.16 contains a pot...