Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-45667

Memory Safety in Nothings Stb Image.H 2.28

Memory Safety
Published
21 October 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.011 64th percentile
Risk Priority 46 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-45667 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Nothings Stb Image.H. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

stb_image is a single file MIT licensed library for processing images. If `stbi__load_gif_main` in `stbi_load_gif_from_memory` fails it returns a null pointer and may keep the `z` variable uninitialized. In case the caller also sets the flip vertically flag, it continues…

more

and calls `stbi__vertical_flip_slices` with the null pointer result value and the uninitialized `z` value. This may result in a program crash.

CWE(s)
CWE-476

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
attack.mitre.org →
T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
attack.mitre.org →
T1489 Service Stop Impact
Adversaries may stop or disable services on a system to render those services unavailable to legitimate users.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-43898Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-45666Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-45664Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-43281Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-45680Same vendor: Nothings
CVE-2023-45663Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2025-3408Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2025-3406Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-45661Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H
CVE-2023-45662Same product: Nothings Stb Image.H

Affected Assets

nothings
stb image.h
2.28

Mitigating Controls

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 SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.

References