CVE-2023-24823 – CVE-2023-24823 is a critical memory corruption ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-24823?

CVE-2023-24823 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). CVE-2023-24823 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in RIOT-OS's 6LoWPAN network stack that allows type confusion between IPv6 extension headers and UDP headers. This leads to out-of-bounds writes that can corrupt packet buffers and allocator metadata, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. All IoT devices running RIOT-OS versions before 2022.10 with 6LoWPAN networking enabled are affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2023-24823 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in RIOT-OS's 6LoWPAN network stack that allows type confusion between IPv6 extension headers and UDP headers. This leads to out-of-bounds writes that can corrupt packet buffers and allocator metadata, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. All IoT devices running RIOT-OS versions before 2022.10 with 6LoWPAN networking enabled are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

RIOT-OS

Versions: All versions prior to 2022.10

Operating Systems: RIOT-OS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with 6LoWPAN networking enabled. Many IoT devices use this by default for low-power wireless communication.

📦 What is this software?

Riot by Riot Os

View all CVEs affecting Riot →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, persistence, and lateral movement within IoT networks.

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service through device crashes or instability, with potential for limited code execution in targeted attacks.

🟢

If Mitigated

Denial of service only if exploit attempts are detected and blocked before memory corruption occurs.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires crafting specific 6LoWPAN frames but no authentication. The vulnerability is in core networking code, making reliable exploitation feasible.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2022.10

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/security/advisories/GHSA-jwmv-47p2-hgq2

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update RIOT-OS to version 2022.10 or later. 2. Rebuild and redeploy firmware to affected devices. 3. Verify the fix by checking the commit hashes include 4a081f86616cb5c9dd0b5d7b286da03285d1652a and dafc397fdc3655aeb5c7b9963a43f1604c6a2062.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Manual patch application

all

Apply the specific commits that fix the vulnerability without full version upgrade

git cherry-pick 4a081f86616cb5c9dd0b5d7b286da03285d1652a
git cherry-pick dafc397fdc3655aeb5c7b9963a43f1604c6a2062

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Segment IoT networks to limit exposure and prevent lateral movement
Implement network filtering to block malformed 6LoWPAN frames at gateway devices

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check RIOT-OS version: if below 2022.10 and 6LoWPAN is enabled, the system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

Check RIOT_VERSION in RIOT-OS build configuration or firmware metadata

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify the fix commits are present: git log --oneline | grep -E '4a081f8|dafc397'

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unexpected device reboots
Memory allocation errors in system logs
Network stack crashes

Network Indicators:

Malformed 6LoWPAN frames with unusual header combinations
Sudden increase in network traffic to IoT devices

SIEM Query:

Search for: (device_type:riot-os AND (event:crash OR event:reboot)) OR (protocol:6lowpan AND packet_size:anomalous)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-24823

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

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

CWE: CWE-787

Published: April 24, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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