Out-of-bounds write in exiv2
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Exiv2 is a C++ library and a command-line utility to read, write, delete and modify Exif, IPTC, XMP and ICC image metadata. An out-of-bounds write was found in Exiv2 version v0.28.0. The vulnerable function, `BmffImage::brotliUncompress`, is new in v0.28.0, so earlier versions of Exiv2 are _not_ affected. The out-of-bounds write is triggered when Exiv2 is used to read the metadata of a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to gain code execution, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. This bug is fixed in version v0.28.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-44398
References
More Exiv2 vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-13478 Buffer Overflow vulnerability in tEXtToDataBuf function in pngimage.cpp in Exiv2 0.27.1… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2025-19560 Use After Free in Exiv2 CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2020-13491 An uncontrolled memory allocation in DataBufdata(subBox.length-sizeof(box)) function of… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2018-08245 Exiv2 0.26 has a heap-based buffer overflow in getData in preview.cpp. CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-33923 Exiv2 Segmentation Faults in Exiv2::EpsImage::writeMetadata() via crafted EPS file CVSS 4.0LOW 1.8
- TI-2019-06608 An issue was discovered in Exiv2 0.27. CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2023-44398 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-44398 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2023-44398 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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