---
id: CVE-2023-4459
title: >-
  A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in vmxnet3_rq_cleanup in
  drivers/net/vmxnet3/vmxnet3_drv.c in the networking sub-component in vmxnet3
  in the Linux Kernel
summary: >-
  A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in vmxnet3_rq_cleanup in
  drivers/net/vmxnet3/vmxnet3_drv.c in the networking sub-component in vmxnet3
  in the Linux Kernel. This issue may allow a local attacker with normal user
  privilege to caus…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
  - CWE-476
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - linux_kernel < 5.18
  - enterprise_linux = 8.0
  - enterprise_linux = 9.0
patched:
  - linux_kernel 5.18
published: '2023-08-21'
updated: '2026-10-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-08T21:17:49.473'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-4459'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0412'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1250'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1306'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1367'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1382'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2006'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2008'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4459'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2219268'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/edf410cb74dc612fd47ef5be319c5a0bcd6e6ccd
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:0412'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1250'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1306'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1367'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:1382'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2006'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2008'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4459'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2219268'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/edf410cb74dc612fd47ef5be319c5a0bcd6e6ccd
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00249
epssPercentile: 0.14891
ingestedAt: '2026-10-08T22:11:53.759Z'
---

## Overview

A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in vmxnet3_rq_cleanup in drivers/net/vmxnet3/vmxnet3_drv.c in the networking sub-component in vmxnet3 in the Linux Kernel. This issue may allow a local attacker with normal user privilege to cause a denial of service due to a missing sanity check during cleanup.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel < 5.18`
- `enterprise_linux = 8.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 9.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 5.18`