CVE-2023-46841 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2023-46841
Vulnerability Scoring

6.5
/10
High Risk

If left unpatched, CVE-2023-46841 could lead to major system disruptions or data loss.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Vulnerability requires local system access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Changed
    Successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2023-46841 Details

Status: Analyzed

Last updated: 🕒 12 May 2025, 15:06 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 20 Mar 2024, 11:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 418 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

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

CVE-2023-46841 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2023-46841: Recent x86 CPUs offer functionality named Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET). A sub-feature of this are Shadow Stacks (CET-SS). CET-SS is a hardware feature designed to protect against Return Oriented Programming attacks. When enabled, traditional stacks holding both data and return addresses are accompanied by so called "shadow stacks", holding little more than return addresses. Shadow stacks aren't writable by normal instructions, and upon function returns their contents are used to check for possible manipulation of a return address coming from the traditional stack. In particular certain memory accesses need intercepting by Xen. In various cases the necessary emulation involves kind of replaying of the instruction. Such replaying typically involves filling and then invoking of a stub. Such a replayed instruction may raise an exceptions, which is expected and dealt with accordingly. Unfortunately the interaction of both of the above wasn't right: Recovery involves removal of a call frame from the (traditional) stack. The counterpart of this operation for the shadow stack was missing.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2023-46841

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2023-46841 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-2023-46841

CVE-2023-46841 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.

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-2023-46841, 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-2023-46841, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2023-46841 has no significant impact on data confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2023-46841 poses no threat to data integrity.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2023-46841 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: 0.043% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 12.0% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 88.0% of others.

CVE-2023-46841 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

NVD-CWE-Other

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:40:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:40:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:14.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:14.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:14.4:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:14.4:*:*:*:*:*:arm:*

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