VulnerabilityPublished 12 Oct 2023Updated 6 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-43789: Out-of-bounds Read

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 29% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Oct 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

AI-suggested

Monitor vendor advisories closely and apply patches or updates for libXpm as soon as they become available.
Restrict local user access to only trusted personnel and enforce the principle of least privilege to minimize the risk of exploitation.
Implement strict user session controls and monitor for unusual local user activity that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
Use security mechanisms such as SELinux or AppArmor to confine processes that utilize libXpm, limiting their ability to access sensitive memory regions.
Conduct regular audits of systems to identify the presence of vulnerable libXpm versions and prioritize remediation on critical systems.
Educate users about the risks of running untrusted code or opening suspicious files that might trigger the vulnerability.
Employ memory protection techniques and address space layout randomization (ASLR) to reduce the likelihood of successful exploitation.
Consider disabling or removing libXpm if it is not required for operational purposes to eliminate the attack surface.

Description

A vulnerability was found in libXpm where a vulnerability exists due to a boundary condition, a local user can trigger an out-of-bounds read error and read contents of memory on the system.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-43789 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information due to out-of-bounds memory reads. This can compromise confidentiality, especially in multi-user environments such as shared servers, development workstations, or systems with multiple local accounts. Although the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, leaked information could include cryptographic keys, passwords, or other sensitive data that could facilitate subsequent attacks. Organizations relying on Linux or Unix-like systems with libXpm installed, particularly in sectors like government, finance, and critical infrastructure, may face increased risk. The requirement for local access limits remote exploitation, but insider threats or compromised accounts could exploit this vulnerability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks once exploit code becomes available. The medium severity suggests that while the threat is not critical, it should be addressed promptly to prevent data leakage and maintain compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR.

References

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