Distribution advisory
This page covers CVE-2023-5981 as tracked by Ubuntu, for the package gnutls28. The fix is available in version 3.7.3-4ubuntu1.3; earlier versions remain affected.
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is high, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity none, availability none.
CVSS metrics in full
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Attack vector: Network — reachable from anywhere that can route to the service.
- Attack complexity: High — the attacker first has to win a race, learn a secret or otherwise prepare the target.
- Privileges required: None — an unauthenticated stranger can try it.
- User interaction: None — nobody has to be tricked into anything.
- Scope: Unchanged — the damage stays inside the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality impact: High — total loss, or loss the attacker controls.
- Integrity impact: None.
- Availability impact: None.
Weakness class
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-5981 is classified as CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy. Two separate operations in a product require different amounts of time to complete, in a way that is observable to an actor and reveals security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not.
Affected software
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-5981 is recorded against 1 package.
- gnutls28 (fixed in 3.7.3-4ubuntu1.3)
Timeline and source
Published on 17 November 2023 and last revised on 14 July 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from OSV.
References
ubuntu.com (Report)
lists.gnupg.org (Report)
gnutls.org (Report)
ubuntu.com (Advisory)
ubuntu.com (Advisory)
www.cve.org (Report)
Other advisories for this package
gnutls28 has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
Same weakness in other software
These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy) in other software:
