CVE-2023-0461: There is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel which can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.

There is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel which can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation.

There is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel which can be exploited to achieve local privilege escalation. To reach the vulnerability kernel configuration flag CONFIG_TLS or CONFIG_XFRM_ESPINTCP has to be configured, but the operation does not require any privilege. There is a use-after-free bug of icsk_ulp_data of a struct inet_connection_sock. When CONFIG_TLS is enabled, user can install a tls context (struct tls_context) on a connected tcp socket. The context is not cleared if this socket is disconnected and reused as a listener. If a new socket is created from the listener, the context is inherited and vulnerable. The setsockopt TCP_ULP operation does not require any privilege. We recommend upgrading past commit 2c02d41d71f90a5168391b6a5f2954112ba2307c

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by cve-coordination@google.com

What it means for a small business

Linux Kernel is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.65%, higher than 51% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 12, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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