VulnerabilityPublished 3 Jul 2024Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-52169: Out-of-bounds Read

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High · fixed in 24.01 : patch affected systems soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.2High

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

EPSS: 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 62% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 24.01

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

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

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: 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: 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: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 3 Jul 2024
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 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

The primary mitigation is to upgrade 7-Zip to version 24.01 or later, where this vulnerability has been addressed. Organizations should audit their environments to identify all instances of 7-Zip used for archive extraction, especially on servers processing untrusted user uploads. Implement strict input validation and file type verification on uploaded archives to reduce the risk of malicious payloads. Employ sandboxing or containerization techniques to isolate extraction processes, limiting the impact of potential exploitation. Monitoring and logging extraction activities can help detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. Additionally, consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules to block suspicious archive uploads. Regularly update and patch all related software components and maintain an incident response plan to address potential exploitation scenarios swiftly.

Description

The NtfsHandler.cpp NTFS handler in 7-Zip before 24.01 (for 7zz) contains an out-of-bounds read that allows an attacker to read beyond the intended buffer. The bytes read beyond the intended buffer are presented as a part of a filename listed in the file system image. This has security relevance in some known web-service use cases where untrusted users can upload files and have them extracted by a server-side 7-Zip process.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive memory contents, potentially exposing confidential data through filename leakage during archive extraction. The high impact on availability means that exploitation could cause denial of service on critical servers, disrupting business operations. Organizations relying on 7-Zip for automated extraction of user-uploaded archives, such as web hosting providers, cloud services, and enterprise file management systems, are particularly vulnerable. The risk is amplified in environments where untrusted users can upload files without sufficient validation or sandboxing. Confidentiality breaches could lead to exposure of internal data or credentials, while availability impacts could affect service continuity. Given the widespread use of 7-Zip in Europe, especially in IT service providers and public sector organizations, the vulnerability could have broad operational and reputational consequences if exploited.

Summary

CVE-2023-52169 is a vulnerability identified in the NtfsHandler.cpp component of 7-Zip, a widely used open-source file archiver. The flaw exists in versions before 24.01 and is characterized by an out-of-bounds read condition (CWE-125) within the NTFS handler code. Specifically, when 7-Zip processes NTFS file system images, it may read bytes beyond the allocated buffer, which are then erroneously included as part of the filename metadata extracted from the archive. This unintended memory disclosure can leak sensitive information residing adjacent to the buffer in memory. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in scenarios where 7-Zip is used server-side to extract archives uploaded by untrusted users, such as in web services or cloud environments. Exploiting this vulnerability requires no privileges, no user interaction, and can be triggered remotely by submitting a maliciously crafted archive file. The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H) indicates a network attack vector with low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and a scope unchanged, resulting in partial confidentiality loss and high impact on availability due to potential crashes or denial of service. Although no active exploits have been reported, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to confidentiality and availability of systems using vulnerable 7-Zip versions.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
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)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (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

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 22:15 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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