CVE-2023-46048Public exploit

Process crash via malformed PFB encoding entries

Published Mar 27, 2024 · Updated Nov 4, 2025

NULL pointer dereference in pdfTeX in TeX Live 944e257 allows local users to crash the process with a malformed PFB font. The t1_builtin_enc routine in texk/web2c/pdftexdir/writet1.c parses malformed dup encoding entries without adequately validating parser state before dereferencing it. The crash affects only the invoking command-line process; upstream treated the report as a usability issue, and the CVE remains disputed.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.29%
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 pdfTeX in TeX Live 944e257 allows local users to crash the process with a malformed PFB font. The t1_builtin_enc routine in texk/web2c/pdftexdir/writet1.c parses malformed dup encoding entries without adequately validating parser state before dereferencing it. The crash affects only the invoking command-line process; upstream treated the report as a usability issue, and the CVE remains disputed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-46048
Published
Mar 27, 2024
Updated
Nov 4, 2025
Vendor
TeX Users Group
Product
TeX Live
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 27, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 4, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=944e257

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

TeX Users Group · TeX Liveversion=944e257

Published CVSS scores

6.2CISA ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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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
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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