Pidgin
CVE-2016-4323
LOW
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 3.7 (LOW). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, high complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.00%. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A remote attacker could access files and directories outside the intended path by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. |
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Alert meAnalysisAI
A directory traversal exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available.
RemediationAI
A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Validate and canonicalize file paths. Use chroot or sandboxing. Reject input containing path separators or '../' sequences.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22), which allows attackers to access files and directories outside the intended path. A directory traversal exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Specially crafted MXIT data sent from the server could potentially result in an overwrite of files. A malicious server or someone with access to the network traffic can provide an invalid filename for a splash image triggering the vulnerability. Affected products include: Pidgin, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionCVE.org
A directory traversal exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Specially crafted MXIT data sent from the server could potentially result in an overwrite of files. A malicious server or someone with access to the network traffic can provide an invalid filename for a splash image triggering the vulnerability.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
The SIMPLE protocol functionality in Pidgin before 2.10.8 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via a ne
Buffer overflow in markup.c in the MXit protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.5 allows remote attackers to
Pidgin 2.13.0 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows local attackers to crash the application by providi
gtkutils.c in Pidgin before 2.10.8 on Windows allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via a
A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), t
Multiple memory corruption vulnerabilities exist in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated high severity (CV
msg.c in the MSN protocol plugin in libpurple in Pidgin before 2.10.4 does not properly handle crafted characters, which
The Mxit protocol uses weak encryption when encrypting user passwords, which might allow attackers to (1) decrypt hashed
An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.
A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol Pidgin. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this
A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), t
An exploitable memory corruption vulnerability exists in the handling of the MXIT protocol in Pidgin. Rated high severit
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB