Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-43641

Memory Safety in Fedoraproject Fedora 37 … 39

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
09 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.17 97th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-43641 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

libcue versions 2.2.1 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds array access vulnerability (CWE-787) that can be triggered while parsing a malicious CUE sheet. The affected component is used by tracker-miners on GNOME desktops to automatically index files with a .cue extension, making the flaw reachable without any additional user action beyond saving the file.

An attacker can host a crafted cue sheet on a malicious webpage. When a GNOME user downloads the file to ~/Downloads, tracker-miners invokes libcue to parse it, resulting in remote code execution with the privileges of the tracker process. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 reflects network attack vector, low complexity, and full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

The libcue project addressed the issue in version 2.3.0; the fixes are documented in the GitHub security advisory GHSA-5982-x7hv-r9cj and the associated commits that correct the array bounds checks. Downstream distributions are expected to ship the patched release and ensure tracker-miners uses the updated library. The EPSS score has remained elevated near 0.80 since disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

libcue provides an API for parsing and extracting data from CUE sheets. Versions 2.2.1 and prior are vulnerable to out-of-bounds array access. A user of the GNOME desktop environment can be exploited by downloading a cue sheet from a malicious…

more

webpage. Because the file is saved to `~/Downloads`, it is then automatically scanned by tracker-miners. And because it has a .cue filename extension, tracker-miners use libcue to parse the file. The file exploits the vulnerability in libcue to gain code execution. This issue is patched in version 2.3.0.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-4354Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-40569Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-1810Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2133Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-39352Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2021-21148Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-40567Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-4355Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-7024Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-2134Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

lipnitsk
libcue
≤ 2.3.0
fedoraproject
fedora
37, 38, 39
debian
debian linux
10.0, 11.0, 12.0

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-787

Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References