CVE-2023-50252 | php-svg-lib unsafe attributes merge when parsing `use` tag

Exp

php-svg-lib is an SVG file parsing / rendering library. Prior to version 0.5.1, when handling `<use>` tag that references an `<image>` tag, it merges the attributes from the `<use>` tag to the `<image>` tag. The problem pops up especially when the `href` attribute from the `<use>` tag has not been sanitized. This can lead to an unsafe file read that can cause PHAR Deserialization vulnerability in PHP prior to version 8. Version 0.5.1 contains a patch for this issue.

Published: 2023-12-12 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-50252 is rated High Exploit Risk (80.3/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 9.63%, 93th percentile). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-50252

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-50252

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 2026-04-05 9.98% 9.63% -0.36%
2 2026-03-04 9.38% 9.98% +0.60%
3 2025-11-30 — 9.38% —

Full EPSS history (20 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-50252

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L 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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 3.7 [email protected]
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-2023-50252

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-50252

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2023-50252 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (php-dompdf-svg-lib), 2 status rows across 2 suites (bookworm, sid): resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-50252
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-50252 medium priority: Ubuntu has no source package entries, 0 status rows across 0 suites (none): no status rows. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-50252

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-50252

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
dompdf php-svg-lib < 0.5.1 cpe:2.3:a:dompdf:php-svg-lib:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-50252

cvelogic Threat Intelligence