CVE-2023-3269: Distros-[dirtyvma] privilege escalation via non-rcu-protected vma traversal

Is it exploited?

Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026.

VulnCheck KEV lists it since 6 Dec 2024. It cites 1 public report, the first from 6 Dec 2024.

• securelist.com

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

1.3%

EPSS score, percentile 70.4 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

7.8 High

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; VulnCheck KEV, as of 30 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Distros-[dirtyvma] privilege escalation via non-rcu-protected vma traversal

A vulnerability exists in the memory management subsystem of the Linux kernel. The lock handling for accessing and updating virtual memory areas (VMAs) is incorrect, leading to use-after-free problems. This issue can be successfully exploited to execute arbitrary kernel code, escalate containers, and gain root privileges.

Source: CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 30 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

Source: CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline