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NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2023-38253: W3m: out of bounds read in growbuf_to_str() at w3m/indep.c

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.35% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: w3m (Alpine:v3.23) 0.5.3_git20241203-r0; w3m (openSUSE:Leap 15.4) 0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1; w3m (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 0.5.3+git20230121-2.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to w3m (Alpine:v3.23) 0.5.3_git20241203-r0; w3m (openSUSE:Leap 15.4) 0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1; w3m (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 0.5.3+git20230121-2.1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

An out-of-bounds read flaw was found in w3m, in the growbuf_to_Str function in indep.c. This issue may allow an attacker to cause a denial of service through a crafted HTML file.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jul 14, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 29th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
5.5
CNA · redhat
4.7
0.8 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2023-38253

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
tatsw3m
fedoraprojectextra packages for enterprise linux
fedoraprojectfedora
redhatenterprise linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • fedoraproject extra packages for enterprise linux8.0
  • fedoraproject fedora38
  • redhat enterprise linux6.0
  • tats w3m0.5.3+git20230121

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Fedora Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux

    • all versionsaffected

  • Fedora Fedora

    • all versionsaffected

  • n/a w3m

    • all versionsaffected

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

    • all versionsunknown

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Alpine:v3.23w3mbefore 0.5.3_git20241203-r00.5.3_git20241203-r0
Debian:12w3mfrom 0—
openSUSE:Leap 15.4w3mbefore 0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.10.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedw3mbefore 0.5.3+git20230121-2.10.5.3+git20230121-2.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4w3mbefore 0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.10.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1

Same product

tats: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2016-9429An issue was discovered in the Tatsuya Kinoshita w3m fork before 0.5.3-31.
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2016-9428An issue was discovered in the Tatsuya Kinoshita w3m fork before 0.5.3-31.
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2016-9426An issue was discovered in the Tatsuya Kinoshita w3m fork before 0.5.3-31.
    36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2022-38223Aug 15, 2022 · There is an out-of-bounds write in checkType located in etc.c in w3m 0.5.3.
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2023-38252Jul 14, 2023 · W3m: out of bounds read in strnew_size() at w3m/str.c
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-4255Dec 21, 2023 · W3m: out-of-bounds write in function checktype() in etc.c (incomplete fix for cve-2022-38223)
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
alpine:w3m0.5.3_git20241203-r0 · Alpine:v3.23Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:w3m0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.4Package registry (OSV)
suse:w3m0.5.3+git20230121-150000.3.6.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds Read

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (4 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records