Remote code execution via WebP heap overflow
Published Sep 12, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025
Heap buffer overflow in Google Chrome and libwebp allows remote attackers to write out of bounds via crafted WebP content. The lossless decoder's BuildHuffmanTable constructs tables without sufficient bounds validation, enabling heap corruption when a malicious image is decoded. Exploitation requires a victim to load attacker-controlled HTML or WebP data and can compromise browser or application memory; Google documented exploitation in the wild.
Summary
What happened
Heap buffer overflow in Google Chrome and libwebp allows remote attackers to write out of bounds via crafted WebP content. The lossless decoder's BuildHuffmanTable constructs tables without sufficient bounds validation, enabling heap corruption when a malicious image is decoded. Exploitation requires a victim to load attacker-controlled HTML or WebP data and can compromise browser or application memory; Google documented exploitation in the wild.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-4863
- Published
- Sep 12, 2023
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Vendor
- Product
- Google Chrome
- Classifications
- CWE-787, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 13, 2023Exploitation reportedCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog entry
- Oct 21, 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.
- Affected versionversion=116.0.5845.187 <116.0.5845.187
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog entryknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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