Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-54334

Memory Safety in Explorerplusplus Explorer\+\+ 1.3.5.531

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
13 January 2026
Modified
30 January 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0052 41th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-54334 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Explorerplusplus Explorer\+\+. Its CVSS base score is 7.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 41th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

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

CVE-2023-54334 is a buffer overflow vulnerability affecting Explorer32++ version 1.3.5.531, specifically in its Structured Exception Handler (SEH) records. The flaw, tied to CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow) and CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), can be triggered by supplying a file name argument exceeding 396 characters. This corrupts the SEH chain, enabling attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity due to its network accessibility and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability without requiring privileges or user interaction. By providing a specially crafted long file name argument, they corrupt the SEH chain and achieve arbitrary code execution on the targeted system running the affected Explorer32++ version.

Advisories and references highlight the issue without detailing patches, as Explorer32++ appears to be an open-source project with an archived homepage. A proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available on Exploit-DB (ID 51077), and Vulncheck has published an advisory on the buffer overflow. Security practitioners should avoid using version 1.3.5.531 and monitor for updates, though none are explicitly referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Explorer32++ 1.3.5.531 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in Structured Exception Handler (SEH) records that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by providing a long file name argument over 396 characters to corrupt the SEH chain…

more

and potentially execute malicious code.

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-2023-4756Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2023-45225Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2024-4494Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2024-4236Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2024-4118Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2025-29840Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2023-25085Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2023-37316Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2023-46223Shared CWE-121, CWE-787
CVE-2025-30472Shared CWE-121, CWE-787

Affected Assets

explorerplusplus
explorer\+\+
1.3.5.531

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and analysis can discover stack-buffer overflows before deployment.

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from exceeding stack buffer bounds.

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability to execute injected code after a stack overflow.

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

Secure-engineering principles include bounds-checked coding and safe buffer handling that avoid introducing the flaw.

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 directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

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 (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

prevents

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

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121

References