CVE-2023-42464: A Type Confusion vulnerability was found in the Spotlight RPC functions in afpd in Netatalk 3.1.x before 3.1.1

This week

CRITICAL 9.8REMOTEWATCHLISTUPGRADEMITIGATE

CVE-2023-42464 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.8) affecting netatalk, debian linux. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

A Type Confusion vulnerability was found in the Spotlight RPC functions in afpd in Netatalk 3.1.x before 3.1.17. When parsing Spotlight RPC packets, one encoded data structure is a key-value style dictionary where the keys are character strings, and the values can be any of the supported types in the underlying protocol. Due to a lack of type checking in callers of the dalloc_value_for_key() function, which returns the object associated with a ke

Why this priority

Critical severity
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action
On your watchlist

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	9.8 (Critical)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	2.1% (top 18%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-843
Published	2023-09-20
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: debian · netatalk

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2023-09-20 15:15 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 06:23 UTCUpdated Record last modified

netatalk netatalk UPGRADE

Affected: >= 3.1 and < 3.1.17

Fixed in: 3.1.17

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 3.1

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy netatalk || rpm -q netatalk || netatalk --version

2. UPGRADE to 3.1.17 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade netatalk

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade netatalk

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE to a release before 3.1 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison netatalk sudo apt install netatalk=<VERSION_BEFORE_3.1> sudo apt-mark hold netatalk

3. If no update is available yet, DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list netatalk sudo dnf downgrade netatalk-<VERSION_BEFORE_3.1> sudo dnf versionlock add netatalk

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

debian debian linux MITIGATE

Affected: 10.0 · 11.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 10.0

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2023-42464?

netatalk: upgrade to 3.1.17; debian linux: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2023-42464 being exploited?

CVE-2023-42464 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2023-42464 affect?

CVE-2023-42464 affects netatalk, debian linux. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). A Type Confusion vulnerability was found in the Spotlight RPC functions in afpd in Netatalk 3.1.x before 3.1.17. When parsing Spotlight RPC packets, one encoded data structure is a key-value style dictionary where the keys are character str

How urgent is CVE-2023-42464?

Priority 65/100. Critical severity; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action; On your watchlist

Software pages

Debian vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2024-38441 CRITICAL 9.8 UPGRADE Netatalk before 3.2.1 has an off-by-one error and resultant heap-based buffer overflow because of setting ibuf
CVE-2024-38440 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE Netatalk before 3.2.1 has an off-by-one error, and resultant heap-based buffer overflow and segmentation viola
CVE-2024-38439 CRITICAL 9.8 UPGRADE Netatalk before 3.2.1 has an off-by-one error and resultant heap-based buffer overflow because of setting ibuf

References

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