CVE-2023-44398 | Out-of-bounds write in exiv2

Exiv2 is a C++ library and a command-line utility to read, write, delete and modify Exif, IPTC, XMP and ICC image metadata. An out-of-bounds write was found in Exiv2 version v0.28.0. The vulnerable function, `BmffImage::brotliUncompress`, is new in v0.28.0, so earlier versions of Exiv2 are _not_ affected. The out-of-bounds write is triggered when Exiv2 is used to read the metadata of a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to gain code execution, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. This bug is fixed in version v0.28.1. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-11-06 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-44398 is rated Moderate Risk (55.6/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.97%). Review affected assets and schedule 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-2023-44398

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 2026-06-15 0.62% 0.97% +0.36%
2 2026-05-18 0.47% 0.62% +0.14%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.47% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-44398

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-44398

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-44398

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-44398: 1 source package rows (exiv2); 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-2023-44398
debian unimportant CVE-2023-44398 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (exiv2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-44398
gentoo high CVE-2023-44398: 1 GLSA(s) (202312-06), 1 atom(s) (media-gfx/exiv2); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2023-44398
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-44398
suse high CVE-2023-44398 severity important: SUSE including 15 source package names (exiv2, exiv2-0.28.1-1.1, …), 88 product×package rows across 36 product lines (SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1, … (36 product lines)): Known Not Affected 81, Fixed 7. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-44398/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-44398 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (exiv2), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 7, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-44398

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-44398

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
exiv2 exiv2 0.28.0 cpe:2.3:a:exiv2:exiv2:0.28.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-44398

cvelogic Threat Intelligence