CVE-2023-39020Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Code execution via attacker-controlled bzip2 command construction

Published Jul 28, 2023 · Updated Oct 22, 2024

Code injection in Stanford Parser 3.9.2 and earlier allows attackers to execute operating-system commands through its bzip2 helper. IOUtils.getBZip2PipedInputStream concatenates the bzcat system property and supplied filename into a command string passed to Runtime.exec. Exploitation requires control of a value supplied to that helper; resulting commands run with the hosting Java process's privileges.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability1.04%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Code injection in Stanford Parser 3.9.2 and earlier allows attackers to execute operating-system commands through its bzip2 helper. IOUtils.getBZip2PipedInputStream concatenates the bzcat system property and supplied filename into a command string passed to Runtime.exec. Exploitation requires control of a value supplied to that helper; resulting commands run with the hosting Java process's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-39020
Published
Jul 28, 2023
Updated
Oct 22, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-94, T1059
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 28, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 22, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

9.3GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
9.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-94Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
T1059Command and Scripting Interpreter

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo