VulnerabilityPublished 25 Dec 2023Updated 18 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-7104: SQLite SQLite3 · Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Affects SQLite SQLite3Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium : upgrade to 3.44.0 when convenient.

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: 1.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 73% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 3.44.0

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

Attack Vector: Adjacent
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
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: Adjacent: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack, but the attack is limited at the protocol level to a logically adjacent topology. This can mean an attack must be launched from the same shared physical (e.g., Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11) or logical (e.g., local IP subnet) network, or from within a secure or otherwise limited administrative domain (e.g., MPLS, secure VPN to an administrative network zone).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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 Dec 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

Upgrade SQLite SQLite3 to 3.44.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SQLite SQLite3	Affected <3.44.0	Fixed in 3.44.0

AI-suggested

1. 2. Audit and inventory all applications and devices using SQLite3, focusing on those utilizing the sqlite3session extension. 3. Where patching is delayed, implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems, especially restricting access to services that invoke SQLite session handling. 4. Monitor application logs and system behavior for anomalies such as crashes or unexpected database errors that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. Employ runtime protections such as heap overflow detection and memory safety tools where feasible. 6. Educate developers and system administrators about the vulnerability and encourage secure coding and update practices. 7. For embedded and IoT devices, coordinate with vendors to ensure timely firmware updates addressing this vulnerability. 8. Incorporate vulnerability scanning and management processes to detect outdated SQLite versions in the environment.

Description

A vulnerability was found in SQLite SQLite3 up to 3.43.0 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function sessionReadRecord of the file ext/session/sqlite3session.c of the component make alltest Handler. The manipulation leads to heap-based buffer overflow. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-248999.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-7104 depends on the extent of SQLite3 usage, especially the sqlite3session extension, within their software stacks. Many enterprise applications, embedded devices, and mobile apps rely on SQLite for local data storage and synchronization. A successful exploit could lead to unauthorized data access, data integrity violations, or denial of service through application crashes. This could affect sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government where data confidentiality and integrity are critical. Additionally, embedded systems in industrial control or IoT devices using vulnerable SQLite versions could face operational disruptions. The medium severity and requirement for some privileges mean that internal threat actors or compromised network nodes could leverage this vulnerability to escalate attacks. European organizations with stringent data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) must consider the risk of data breaches and operational impact. Failure to patch could also expose organizations to compliance and reputational risks.

CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #16
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
Pre-design: Use a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
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…
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
Forced Integer Overflow (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 19 Dec 2025, 04:27 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-122

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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