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CVE-2023-38712

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA...

6.5 MediumFix available

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.81%Up 0.8 points since Aug 26, 2023
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 6.5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
CVE-2023-38712
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
CVE-2023-38712
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-42487 No score

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
EUVD-2023-42487
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-65xr-g9j5-jv8g 7.5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA...

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
GHSA-65xr-g9j5-jv8g
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2023-38712 6.5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
ALPINE-CVE-2023-38712
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
OSVAZL-28066 6.5

CVE-2023-38712 affecting package libreswan for versions less than 4.7-5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
AZL-28066
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 17 moreShow less
OSVAZL-34937 6.5

CVE-2023-38712 affecting package libreswan for versions less than 4.7-6

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
AZL-34937
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2023-38712 6.5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38712
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-06
OSVOESA-2023-1581 6.5

libreswan security update

Libreswan is an implementation of IKEv1 and IKEv2 for IPsec. IPsec is the Internet Protocol Security and uses strong cryptography to provide both authentication and encryption services.

Security Fix(es):

An issue was discovered in Libreswan before 4.12. When an IKEv2 Child SA REKEY packet contains an invalid IPsec protocol ID number of 0 or 1, an error notify INVALID_SPI is sent back. The notify payload's protocol ID is copied from the incoming packet, but the code that verifies outgoing packets fails an assertion that the protocol ID must be ESP (2) or AH(3) and causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart. NOTE: the earliest affected version is 3.20.(CVE-2023-38710)

An issue was discovered in Libreswan before 4.12. When an IKEv1 Quick Mode connection configured with ID_IPV4_ADDR or ID_IPV6_ADDR receives an IDcr payload with ID_FQDN, a NULL pointer dereference causes a crash and restart of the pluto daemon. NOTE: the earliest affected version is 4.6.(CVE-2023-38711)

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.(CVE-2023-38712)

Record
OESA-2023-1581
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHBA-2024:11505 7.5

Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: OpenShift Container Platform 4.16.28 packages and security update

Record
RHBA-2024:11505
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHBA-2024:11525 7.5

Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: OpenShift Container Platform 4.17.10 packages and security update

Record
RHBA-2024:11525
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHBA-2024:11565 7.5

Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: OpenShift Container Platform 4.15.42 packages update

Record
RHBA-2024:11565
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2023:6549 6.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: libreswan security update

Record
RHSA-2023:6549
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2023:7052 6.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: libreswan security update

Record
RHSA-2023:7052
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2024:10594 7.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: libreswan security update

Record
RHSA-2024:10594
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2025:0309 6.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: libreswan security update

Record
RHSA-2025:0309
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRLSA-2023:7052 6.5

Moderate: libreswan security update

Libreswan is an implementation of IPsec and IKE for Linux. IPsec is the Internet Protocol Security and uses strong cryptography to provide both authentication and encryption services. These services allow you to build secure tunnels through untrusted networks such as virtual private network (VPN).

Security Fix(es):

  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv2 REKEY proposal causes restart (CVE-2023-38710)

  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 Quick Mode ID causes restart (CVE-2023-38711)

  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 repeat IKE SA delete causes crash and restart (CVE-2023-38712)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Additional Changes:

For detailed information on changes in this release, see the Rocky Linux 8.9 Release Notes linked from the References section.

Record
RLSA-2023:7052
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-38712 6.5

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-38712
CVSS 3.1
6.5 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALSA-2023:6549 No score

Moderate: libreswan security update

Libreswan is an implementation of IPsec and IKE for Linux. IPsec is the Internet Protocol Security and uses strong cryptography to provide both authentication and encryption services. These services allow you to build secure tunnels through untrusted networks such as virtual private network (VPN).

Security Fix(es):

  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv2 REKEY proposal causes restart (CVE-2023-38710)
  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 Quick Mode ID causes restart (CVE-2023-38711)
  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 repeat IKE SA delete causes crash and restart (CVE-2023-38712)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Additional Changes:

For detailed information on changes in this release, see the AlmaLinux Release Notes linked from the References section.

Record
ALSA-2023:6549
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALSA-2023:7052 No score

Moderate: libreswan security update

Libreswan is an implementation of IPsec and IKE for Linux. IPsec is the Internet Protocol Security and uses strong cryptography to provide both authentication and encryption services. These services allow you to build secure tunnels through untrusted networks such as virtual private network (VPN).

Security Fix(es):

  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv2 REKEY proposal causes restart (CVE-2023-38710)
  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 Quick Mode ID causes restart (CVE-2023-38711)
  • libreswan: Invalid IKEv1 repeat IKE SA delete causes crash and restart (CVE-2023-38712)

For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Additional Changes:

For detailed information on changes in this release, see the AlmaLinux Release Notes linked from the References section.

Record
ALSA-2023:7052
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVCLSA-2025-1757962152 No score

libreswan: Fix of CVE-2023-38712

  • CVE-2023-38712: fix a NULL pointer dereference caused by a duplicated Delete/Notify message which causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart
Record
CLSA-2025-1757962152
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV No score

An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart.

Record
CVE-2023-38712
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2024-0085 No score

Updated libreswan packages fix security vulnerabilities

The updated package fixes security vulnerabilities: pluto in Libreswan before 4.11 allows a denial of service (responder SPI mishandling and daemon crash) via unauthenticated IKEv1 Aggressive Mode packets. (CVE-2023-30570) An issue was discovered in Libreswan before 4.12. When an IKEv2 Child SA REKEY packet contains an invalid IPsec protocol ID number of 0 or 1, an error notify INVALID_SPI is sent back. The notify payload's protocol ID is copied from the incoming packet, but the code that verifies outgoing packets fails an assertion that the protocol ID must be ESP (2) or AH(3) and causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart. (CVE-2023-38710) An issue was discovered in Libreswan before 4.12. When an IKEv1 Quick Mode connection configured with ID_IPV4_ADDR or ID_IPV6_ADDR receives an IDcr payload with ID_FQDN, a NULL pointer dereference causes a crash and restart of the pluto daemon. (CVE-2023-38711) An issue was discovered in Libreswan 3.x and 4.x before 4.12. When an IKEv1 ISAKMP SA Informational Exchange packet contains a Delete/Notify payload followed by further Notifies that act on the ISAKMP SA, such as a duplicated Delete/Notify message, a NULL pointer dereference on the deleted state causes the pluto daemon to crash and restart. (CVE-2023-38712)

Record
MGASA-2024-0085
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libreswan
Alpine:v3.19
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
Alpine:v3.20
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
Alpine:v3.21
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
Alpine:v3.22
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
Alpine:v3.23
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
Alpine:v3.24
3.0 up to 4.12-r0
4.12-r0
libreswan
AlmaLinux:9
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.el9
4.12-1.el9
libreswan
AlmaLinux:8
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-2.el8
4.12-2.el8
libreswan
Azure Linux:2
before 4.7-5
4.7-5
libreswan
Azure Linux:3
before 4.7-6
4.7-6
Show 38 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libreswan
TuxCare:AlmaLinux:9.2
before 4.9-4.el9_2.tuxcare.els4
4.9-4.el9_2.tuxcare.els4
libreswan
Debian:12
All versions, plus listed versions
4.10-24.10-2+deb12u14.11-14.12-14.12-2
Show 13 moreShow less
4.12-34.14-14.14-1.14.15-15.0~rc2-15.0~rc2-25.2-15.2-25.2-2.15.2-2.25.2-2.35.2-2.45.2-2.5
None known
libreswan
Debian:13
before 4.12-1
4.12-1
libreswan
Mageia:9
From an advisory covering 4 CVEs
before 4.12-1.mga9
4.12-1.mga9
libreswan
openEuler:20.03-LTS-SP1
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.oe1
4.12-1.oe1
libreswan
openEuler:20.03-LTS-SP3
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.oe1
4.12-1.oe1
libreswan
openEuler:22.03-LTS
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.oe2203sp2
4.12-1.oe2203sp2
libreswan
openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP1
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.oe2203sp1
4.12-1.oe2203sp1
libreswan
openEuler:22.03-LTS-SP2
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 4.12-1.oe2203sp2
4.12-1.oe2203sp2
libreswan
Red Hat:openshift:4.16::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:openshift:4.16::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:openshift:4.16::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan
Red Hat:openshift:4.17::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:openshift:4.17::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:openshift:4.17::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan
Red Hat:openshift:4.15::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:openshift:4.15::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:openshift:4.15::el9
From an advisory covering 8 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-1.el9
0:4.12-1.el9
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-1.el9
0:4.12-1.el9
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-1.el9
0:4.12-1.el9
libreswan
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-2.el8
0:4.12-2.el8
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-2.el8
0:4.12-2.el8
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-2.el8
0:4.12-2.el8
libreswan
Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.0::appstream
From an advisory covering 6 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.0::appstream
From an advisory covering 6 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:rhel_e4s:9.0::appstream
From an advisory covering 6 CVEs
before 0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
0:4.6-3.el9_0.3
libreswan
Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
libreswan-debuginfo
Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
libreswan-debugsource
Red Hat:rhel_eus:9.2::appstream
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
0:4.9-5.el9_2.4
libreswan
Rocky Linux:8
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:4.12-2.el8_10.3
0:4.12-2.el8_10.3
libreswan
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.20-7build13.21-23.22-13.22-23.22-33.22-43.23-13.23-4
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.29-23.29-2build1
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.32-3ubuntu3
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.11-1ubuntu14.12-1ubuntu14.14-1ubuntu14.14-1ubuntu2
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
4.14-1ubuntu25.2-2.2ubuntu1
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:26.10
All versions, plus listed versions
5.2-2.2ubuntu2
None known
libreswan
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
5.2-2.2ubuntu15.2-2.2ubuntu2
None known

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affectedOSV
affected, facts
affected, aliases, referencesOSV
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2023-38712 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Libreswan, published August 25, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.81%, the 57th percentile. Fixed in libreswan 4.12-r0.

References

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