Iperf3: possible denial of service (CVE-2023-7250)
Published Sources: Debian LTS, CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
A flaw was found in iperf, a utility for testing network performance using TCP, UDP, and SCTP. A malicious or malfunctioning client can send less than the expected amount of data to the iperf server, which can cause the server to hang indefinitely waiting for the remainder or until the connection gets closed.
Update Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to version 0:3.5-10.el8_10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 to version 0:3.9-13.el9.
- Affected
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
lt *..0:3.5-10.el8_10 - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
lt *..0:3.9-13.el9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Fixed in
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
0:3.5-10.el8_10 - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
0:3.9-13.el9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
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Metrics
5.3
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: NVD, CVSS v3
5.3
CVSS v3
Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Debian LTS, CVE.org
0.9 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 60.7
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Medium
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 60.61 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 5.3 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 5.3
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.9 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 60.7
- High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
- CISA assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: partial
- Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 21 March 2024
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-183
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
A flaw was found in iperf, a utility for testing network performance using TCP, UDP, and SCTP. A malicious or malfunctioning client can send less than the expected amount of data to the iperf server, which can cause the server to hang indefinitely waiting for the remainder or until the connection gets closed. This will prevent other connections to the server, leading to a denial of service.
Source: Debian LTS Advisories, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 |
|
|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 |
|
|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 |
|
|
| es | iperf3 |
|
|
Vendors and products
- Debian Iperf3
- Es Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) iperf3
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Redhat Enterprise Linux
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Arm 64
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power, Little Endian
Affected operating systems
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux | 8.0 |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux | 9.0 |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux_for_arm_64 | 8.0_aarch64 |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux_for_arm_64 | 9.0_aarch64 |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems | 8.0_s390x |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems | 9.0_s390x |
| Linux | redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian | 8.0_ppc64le |
| Linux | debian | iperf3 | bullseye |
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-183Permissive List of Allowed Inputs
Base
The product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are explicitly allowed by policy because the inputs are assumed to be safe, but the list is too permissive - that is, it allows an input that is unsafe, leading to resultant weaknesses.
Entry at MITRE CWE-183
References & sources
- access.redhat.comRHSA-2024:4241Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, Third-party advisory
- access.redhat.comRHSA-2024:9185Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, Third-party advisory
- access.redhat.comsecurity/cve/CVE-2023-7250Vulnerability database, x_refsource_REDHAT, Third-party advisory
- bugzilla.redhat.comRHBZ#2244707Issue tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT, Issue tracking, Third-party advisory
- lists.debian.orgdebian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00027.html
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2023-7250"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2023-7250.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2023-7250 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>