Skip to main content

Libx11 CVE-2023-3138

HIGH
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2023-06-28 secalert@redhat.com
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, buffer size validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 1.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

A vulnerability was found in libX11. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Buffer Overflow vulnerability could allow attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use memory-safe languages or bounds-checking. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, stack canaries. Use safe string functions.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

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 Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), which allows attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. A vulnerability was found in libX11. The security flaw occurs because the functions in src/InitExt.c in libX11 do not check that the values provided for the Request, Event, or Error IDs are within the bounds of the arrays that those functions write to, using those IDs as array indexes. They trust that they were called with values provided by an Xserver adhering to the bounds specified in the X11 protocol, as all X servers provided by X.Org do. As the protocol only specifies a single byte for these values, an out-of-bounds value provided by a malicious server (or a malicious proxy-in-the-middle) can only overwrite other portions of the Display structure and not write outside the bounds of the Display structure itself, possibly causing the client to crash with this memory corruption. Affected products include: X.Org Libx11, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

Know when Libx11 gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

A vulnerability was found in libX11. The security flaw occurs because the functions in src/InitExt.c in libX11 do not check that the values provided for the Request, Event, or Error IDs are within the bounds of the arrays that those functions write to, using those IDs as array indexes. They trust that they were called with values provided by an Xserver adhering to the bounds specified in the X11 protocol, as all X servers provided by X.Org do. As the protocol only specifies a single byte for these values, an out-of-bounds value provided by a malicious server (or a malicious proxy-in-the-middle) can only overwrite other portions of the Display structure and not write outside the bounds of the Display structure itself, possibly causing the client to crash with this memory corruption.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.7%
Top 26% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.7%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

40
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:x.org:libx11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More in Libx11

View all
CVE-2021-31535 CRITICAL POC
9.8 May 27

LookupCol.c in X.Org X through X11R7.7 and libX11 before 1.7.1 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. R

CVE-2020-14363 HIGH POC
7.8 Sep 11

An integer overflow vulnerability leading to a double-free was found in libX11. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vul

CVE-2016-7942 CRITICAL
9.8 Dec 13

The XGetImage function in X.org libX11 before 1.6.4 might allow remote X servers to gain privileges via vectors involvin

CVE-2016-7943 CRITICAL
9.8 Dec 13

The XListFonts function in X.org libX11 before 1.6.4 might allow remote X servers to gain privileges via vectors involvi

CVE-2018-14600 CRITICAL
9.8 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in libX11 through 1.6.5. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely expl

CVE-2018-14599 CRITICAL
9.8 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in libX11 through 1.6.5. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely expl

CVE-2013-7439 HIGH
7.5 Apr 16

Multiple off-by-one errors in the (1) MakeBigReq and (2) SetReqLen macros in include/X11/Xlibint.h in X11R6.x and libX11

CVE-2023-43787 HIGH
7.8 Oct 10

A vulnerability was found in libX11 due to an integer overflow within the XCreateImage() function. Rated high severity (

CVE-2026-88806 HIGH
7.5 Sep 21

Heap-based buffer overflow in libX11 before 1.8.14 allows a malicious or compromised X server to corrupt memory in conne

CVE-2018-14598 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

An issue was discovered in XListExtensions in ListExt.c in libX11 through 1.6.5. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vu

CVE-2013-1981 MEDIUM
6.8 Jun 15

Multiple integer overflows in X.org libX11 1.5.99.901 (1.6 RC1) and earlier allow X servers to trigger allocation of ins

CVE-2013-1997 MEDIUM
6.8 Jun 15

Multiple buffer overflows in X.org libX11 1.5.99.901 (1.6 RC1) and earlier allow X servers to cause a denial of service

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy