CVE-2023-40889

A heap-based buffer overflow exists in the qr_reader_match_centers function of ZBar 0.23.90. Specially crafted QR codes may lead to information disclosure and/or arbitrary code execution. To trigger this vulnerability, an attacker can digitally input the malicious QR code, or prepare it to be physically scanned by the vulnerable scanner.

Published: 2023-08-29 Last update: 2025-11-04 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-40889 is rated High Risk (65.4/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.81%). High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-40889

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-24 0.67% 0.81% +0.14%
2 2026-04-29 0.56% 0.67% +0.11%
3 2026-04-09 — 0.56% —

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-40889

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-40889

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-40889

GHSA-mhp6-jvpx-2p4m · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: pip — Heap-based buffer overflow in ZBar

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-40889

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-40889: 1 source package rows (zbar); 5 state rows across 5 repos (3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 5, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-40889
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-40889 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (zbar), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-40889
suse medium CVE-2023-40889 severity moderate: SUSE including 18 source package names (libzbar-devel-0.23.1-150300.3.3.1, libzbar-devel-0.23.90-5.1, …), 53 product×package rows across 13 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP6, … (13 product lines)): Fixed 53. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-40889/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-40889 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (zbar), 12 status rows across 12 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 4, ignored 3, needs-triage 2, not-affected 2, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-40889

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-40889

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
zbar_project zbar 0.23.90 cpe:2.3:a:zbar_project:zbar:0.23.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-40889

cvelogic Threat Intelligence