CVE-2023-28393VulnerabilityPublished 25 Sep 2023Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-28393: Accusoft ImageGear · Stack-based Buffer Overflow

Affects Accusoft ImageGearSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.6 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.6Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 46% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Sep 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
NuGetAccusoft/imagegear`pkg:nuget/Accusoft/imagegear`Other threats	Affected =20.1	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Monitor Accusoft communications and apply security patches promptly once available to address CVE-2023-28393. 2. Implement strict input validation and sanitization for all DNG and TIFF files processed by ImageGear to detect and reject malformed or suspicious files. 3. Employ sandboxing or containerization to isolate the image processing component, limiting the impact of potential memory corruption. 4. Restrict network exposure of services using ImageGear to trusted sources and implement file integrity checks before processing. 5. Use runtime application self-protection (RASP) or memory protection technologies (e.g., DEP, ASLR) to mitigate exploitation attempts. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and fuzz testing on image processing workflows to identify similar vulnerabilities proactively. 7. Educate developers and system administrators about the risks of processing untrusted image files and enforce secure coding practices. 8. Monitor logs and system behavior for anomalies indicative of exploitation attempts, such as crashes or unusual memory usage.

Description

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the tif_processing_dng_channel_count functionality of Accusoft ImageGear 20.1. A specially crafted malformed file can lead to memory corruption. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-28393 depends on the extent of ImageGear 20.1 deployment, particularly in industries relying on image processing such as digital media, publishing, and software development. Successful exploitation could compromise confidentiality by leaking sensitive image data, integrity by manipulating image processing results, and availability by causing application crashes or denial of service. Although the attack complexity is high, the vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication or user interaction, increasing risk in automated processing environments. Organizations processing untrusted DNG files or integrating ImageGear in exposed services are at higher risk. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate future risk, especially if attackers develop reliable exploit code. The medium severity suggests moderate risk, but targeted attacks against critical infrastructure or intellectual property could have significant consequences. European data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) also heighten the importance of preventing data breaches stemming from such vulnerabilities.

CWE-121Stack-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #14
A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function).
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Implementation
Implement and perform bounds checking on input.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 20:47 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-121

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats