CVE-2023-43898Public exploit

Application crash via freed PIC buffer dereference

Published Oct 3, 2023 · Updated Jun 17, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in Nothings stb 2.28 allows attackers to crash an application that processes a crafted PIC image file. After stbi__pic_load_core rejects malformed PIC data, stbi__pic_load frees and nulls its result buffer but still passes that pointer to stbi__convert_format, which dereferences it during pixel conversion. Exploitation requires an application embedding stb_image to process the file with a requested component count other than zero or four; the bounded consequence is process termination.

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

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Nothings stb 2.28 allows attackers to crash an application that processes a crafted PIC image file. After stbi__pic_load_core rejects malformed PIC data, stbi__pic_load frees and nulls its result buffer but still passes that pointer to stbi__convert_format, which dereferences it during pixel conversion. Exploitation requires an application embedding stb_image to process the file with a requested component count other than zero or four; the bounded consequence is process termination.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-43898
Published
Oct 3, 2023
Updated
Jun 17, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-476, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 17, 2025Record 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

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS: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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1204.002Malicious File

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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