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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-38852: libxls · CVE-2023-38852 is a buffer overflow

Affects libxlsSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity
High

Rated High by the CNA (mitre) · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS
1.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 70% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 15 Aug 2023

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
GitHublibxls/libxlspkg:github/libxls/libxlsOther threatsAffected
  • =1.6.2
Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

Users should monitor vendor advisories for updates. Until a fix is released, avoid processing untrusted XLS files with libxls version 1.6.2.

Description

CVE-2023-38852 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in libxls version 1.6.2. It occurs in the unicode_decode_wcstombs function within xlstool.c at line 266. This flaw allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service by crafting a malicious XLS file.

References

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