How severe is CVE-2023-0266?

CVE-2023-0266 has a CVSS score of 7/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-0266?

Affected package information for CVE-2023-0266 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2023-0266?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2023-0266 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2023-0266 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 5 known exploit references for CVE-2023-0266, including 4 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-0266?

CVE-2023-0266 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 39th 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.

Is CVE-2023-0266 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2023-0266 (Linux Kernel Use-After-Free Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2023-03-30. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2023-04-20. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

When was CVE-2023-0266 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-0266 was published on January 30, 2023 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2023-03-30 — agencies required to remediate by 2023-04-20

CVE-2023-0266

HIGH

Also known asA-265303544PUB-A-265303544

Published

Jan 30, 2023

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

5 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk39th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Linux Kernel. SNDRV_CTL_IOCTL_ELEM_{READ|WRITE}32 is missing locks that can be used in a use-after-free that can result in a priviledge escalation to gain ring0 access from the system user. We recommend upgrading past commit 56b88b50565cd8b946a2d00b0c83927b7ebb055e

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Lin…

thehackernews.comAPIMar 2023

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Lin…

cisa.govCISAMar 2023

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Lin…

source.android.comGoogle-sheetJan 2023

A use after free vulnerability exists in the ALSA PCM package in the Lin…

github.comGithubMar 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2023-0266 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2023-0266 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

7/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Local

AC:Attack Complexity

High

PR:Privileges Required

Low

UI:User Interaction

None

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

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

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

linux

3.0/10

Code-Review0/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection0/10

Assessed Jun 1, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Jan 30, 2023

KEV added

Mar 30, 2023

First exploit

Mar 30, 2023

Last updated

Apr 16, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2023-0266

A-265303544

PUB-A-265303544

References

Advisorylists.debian.org Fixgit.kernel.org Fixgithub.com Fixgithub.com Webcisa.gov

Data from OSV.dev, enriched by O3 Security. Refreshed hourly.