CVE-2023-37748Public exploit

Process hang via nonterminating GIF decode loop

Published Jul 19, 2023 · Updated Oct 28, 2024

An infinite loop in DecodeGifImg in ngiflib commit 5e7292 allows local users to hang a consuming process with a crafted GIF. The decoder repeatedly reads LZW codes in an unbounded loop and fails to reach its end-of-image or zero-pixel exits for the published malformed input. A user or application must open the file through ngiflib; the loop stalls the decoding process and consumes CPU without reported data exposure or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An infinite loop in DecodeGifImg in ngiflib commit 5e7292 allows local users to hang a consuming process with a crafted GIF. The decoder repeatedly reads LZW codes in an unbounded loop and fails to reach its end-of-image or zero-pixel exits for the published malformed input. A user or application must open the file through ngiflib; the loop stalls the decoding process and consumes CPU without reported data exposure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-37748
Published
Jul 19, 2023
Updated
Oct 28, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 19, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 28, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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