CVE-2023-34966
HIGHEPSS 99th pctlDescription
An infinite loop vulnerability was found in Samba's mdssvc RPC service for Spotlight. When parsing Spotlight mdssvc RPC packets sent by the client, the core unmarshalling function sl_unpack_loop() did not validate a field in the network packet that contains the count of elements in an array-like structure. By passing 0 as the count value, the attacked function will run in an endless loop consuming 100% CPU. This flaw allows an attacker to issue a malformed RPC request, triggering an infinite loop, resulting in a denial of service condition.
How to fix
This vulnerability affects an unusually large number of packages. The highest-confidence fixes are shown above; the full list is longer. Check the referenced advisories for complete coverage.
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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
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 99% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-835 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2020-13935 | High | 7.5 | 87% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2020-36227 | High | 7.5 | 78% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2022-0778 | High | 7.5 | 73% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2024-20353 | High | 8.6 | 71% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2019-14241 | High | 7.5 | 70% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-16944 | High | 7.5 | 63% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2023-34966?
Published advisories record a fix for 191 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-2023-34966 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2023-34966 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 62.4% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2023-34966?
CVE-2023-34966 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5, rated high. 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-2023-34966 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for libnetapi (Amazon), libnetapi-debuginfo (Amazon), libnetapi-devel (Amazon), libsmbclient (Amazon), and 187 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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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 2026-06-17.