CVE-2023-4016 — Under some circumstances, this weakness allows a user who has access to run the “ps” utility on a...
Under some circumstances, this weakness allows a user who has access to run the “ps” utility on a machine, the ability to write almost unlimited amounts of unfiltered data into the process heap.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented mitigation — lists.fedoraproject.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Fedoraproject Fedora, Linux Linux Kernal, Procps Project Procps).
- Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fedoraproject | Fedora | version 38 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Linux | Linux Kernal | version 3.3.0 (might be earlier) - latest | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Procps Project | Procps | ≥ 3.3.0 and ≤ 4.0.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | 1.8 | 1.4 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 2.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | 1.0 | 1.4 | trellixpsirt@trellix.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 2.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 2.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Low | — | — | trellix via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · linux/linux kernal
- Record published
- Fix documented
- Affected products added · procps project/procps, fedoraproject/fedora
- CVSS changed · 3.3
- Source status changed · → Modified
- Record created in this database
- 2023
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
References
5 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-54231 Abrt: unsanitized systemd journal content written to dump directory files enables content injection Jun 13, 2026
- High CVE-2026-54230 Abrt: event handler scripts follow symlinks when writing output files, allowing arbitrary file overwrites Jun 13, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-35094 Libinput: libinput: information disclosure via dangling pointer in lua plugin handling Apr 1, 2026
- High CVE-2026-35093 Libinput: libinput: unauthorized code execution and information disclosure through lua bytecode plugins Apr 1, 2026
- Critical CVE-2024-4577 PHP-CGI OS Command Injection Vulnerability KEV Jun 9, 2024
- Critical CVE-2024-5274 Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion Vulnerability KEV May 28, 2024
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2023-4016 is "Under some circumstances, this weakness allows a user who has access to run the “ps” utility on a...", rated Low. It affects Fedora (Fedoraproject); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 3.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.26% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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