c-ares is an asynchronous resolver library. ares_inet_net_pton() is vulnerable to a buffer underflow for certain ipv6 addresses, in particular "0::00:00:00/2" was found to cause an issue. C-ares only uses this function internally for configuration purposes which would require an administrator to configure such an address via ares_set_sortlist(). However, users may externally use ares_inet_net_pton() for other purposes and thus be vulnerable to more severe issues. This issue has been fixed in 1.19.1.
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Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredHigh
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
0.39%probability of exploitation in 30 days
31stpercentile
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 31% of all known CVEs.
Published advisories record a fix for 47 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2023-31130 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2023-31130 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.39% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 31% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2023-31130?
CVE-2023-31130 has a CVSS v3 base score of 4.1, rated medium. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2023-31130 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for c-ares (Debian), c-ares (Red Hat / RHEL), c-ares (Rocky), c-ares-debuginfo (Rocky), and 43 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.
This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-02-13.