CVE-2023-46256Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Unexpected drone behavior via unchecked parser index

Published Oct 31, 2023 · Updated Sep 5, 2024

Heap buffer overflow in PX4 Autopilot 1.14.0-rc1 and earlier allows attackers to alter drone behavior via crafted sensor data. The LightWare serial parser repeatedly increments parserbuf_index while writing digits into a 10-byte line buffer without enforcing an upper bound. A malfunctioning sensor or malicious application must feed the enabled driver; the overwrite can span an unsigned-integer range and produce unexpected flight behavior.

CVSS severity4.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.63%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Heap buffer overflow in PX4 Autopilot 1.14.0-rc1 and earlier allows attackers to alter drone behavior via crafted sensor data. The LightWare serial parser repeatedly increments parserbuf_index while writing digits into a 10-byte line buffer without enforcing an upper bound. A malfunctioning sensor or malicious application must feed the enabled driver; the overwrite can span an unsigned-integer range and produce unexpected flight behavior.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-46256
Published
Oct 31, 2023
Updated
Sep 5, 2024
Vendor
PX4
Product
PX4 Autopilot
Classifications
CWE-122, CWE-787, CWE-120, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 31, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 5, 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?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=<= 1.14.0-rc1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

PX4 · PX4 Autopilotversion=<= 1.14.0-rc1

Published CVSS scores

4.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:L
9.8NISTCVSS: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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
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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