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CVE Record

CVE-2021-23172: A vulnerability was found in SoX, where a heap-buffer-overflow occurs in function startread() in hcom.c file.

A vulnerability was found in SoX, where a heap-buffer-overflow occurs in function startread() in hcom.c file. The vulnerability is exploitable with a crafted hcomn file, that could cause an application to crash.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

SoX can crash when it reads a specially crafted hcomn audio file. The public sources identify a heap buffer overflow in SoX's HCOM reader, but they do not provide affected version ranges, CVSS scoring, or a named patch level.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted availability risk for systems processing untrusted audio. Prioritize review for customer-upload pipelines, email attachment processing, and automated conversion services. Broader urgency is limited by missing version and exploitation evidence.

Technical view

CVE-2021-23172 is a CWE-120 heap-buffer-overflow in startread() in SoX's hcom.c. The documented impact is application crash when processing a crafted hcomn file. Version exposure is listed as not known in the supplied CVE data.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where SoX or applications embedding it process untrusted audio files, uploads, attachments, or automated media conversion jobs. Version-specific exposure cannot be confirmed from the supplied sources.

Exploitation context

The CVE record says the issue is exploitable with a crafted hcomn file causing a crash. The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, active exploitation, public weaponization, or remote unauthenticated service compromise evidence.

Researcher notes

The strongest confirmed facts are the vulnerable function, file path, CWE, crafted-file trigger, and crash impact. Missing details include vulnerable version ranges, fixed commit or release, CVSS metrics, and whether memory corruption could exceed denial of service.

Mitigation direction

  • Check SoX vendor or distribution advisories for patched package status.
  • Update SoX through trusted OS or package repositories when fixes are available.
  • Avoid processing untrusted hcomn files until exposure is understood.
  • Restrict automated media conversion inputs to trusted sources where practical.
  • Run file-processing services with least privilege and isolation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems and containers with SoX installed.
  • Identify workflows that pass user-controlled audio files to SoX.
  • Check package versions against distribution advisories from Red Hat or Arch Linux.
  • Review crash telemetry for SoX processing of hcomn files.
  • Confirm whether applications embed or shell out to SoX.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-23172 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/aSoX (Sound eXchange)Not KnownListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-120

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.