How severe is CVE-2022-23523?

CVE-2022-23523 has a CVSS score of 4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-23523?

CVE-2022-23523 affects the following packages: linux-loader (crates.io). Ecosystems affected: crates.io.

How do I fix CVE-2022-23523?

Update linux-loader to 0.8.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23523 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-23523 in my crates.io dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for linux-loader, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-23523 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.

Is CVE-2022-23523 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-23523 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-23523?

CVE-2022-23523 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 12th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-23523?

CVE-2022-23523 is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2022-23523 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-23523 was published on December 13, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🦀

🦀 crates.io

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-23523 — linux-loader

MEDIUMFix: rust-vmm/linux-loader#125

CVE-2022-23523 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4) Buffer Overflow vulnerability in linux-loader. A fix is available for linux-loader — see the affected versions and patch details below.

rust-vmm linux-loader vulnerable to Out-of-bounds Read

Also known asGHSA-52h2-m2cf-9jh6

Published

Dec 13, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 1, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-23523.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs12th percentile — riskier than 12% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🦀linux-loader

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Impact

The linux-loader crate used the offsets and sizes provided in the ELF headers to determine the offsets to read from. If those offsets pointed beyond the end of the file this could lead to an infinite loop. Virtual Machine Monitors using the linux-loader crate could enter an infinite loop if the ELF header of the kernel they are loading was modified in a malicious manner.

Patches

The issue has been addressed in 0.8.1

Workarounds

The issue can be mitigated by ensuring that only trusted kernel images are loaded or by verifying that the headers to not point beyond the end of the file.

References

See: https://github.com/rust-vmm/linux-loader/pull/125

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🦀crates.io	`linux-loader`	all versions	0.8.1`cargo update -p linux-loader --precise 0.8.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

linux-loaderlinux-loader_project

< 0.8.1

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for linux-loader, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update linux-loader to 0.8.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23523 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact The linux-loader crate used the offsets and sizes provided in the ELF headers to determine the offsets to read from. If those offsets pointed beyond the end of the file this could lead to an infinite loop. Virtual Machine Monitors using the `linux-loader` crate could enter an infinite loop if the ELF header of the kernel they are loading was modified in a malicious manner. ### Patches The issue has been addressed in 0.8.1 ### Workarounds The issue can be mitigated by ensuring that only trusted kernel images are loaded or by verifying that the headers to not point beyond the end of