Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious TIFF processed by LibTIFF's tiffcrop tool can make the process read outside memory bounds and crash or deny service. Main business risk is disruption to services or workflows that process user-supplied TIFF files. Sources name LibTIFF <=4.4.0 and point to a fix commit and distro advisories.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted remediation item for systems that process external TIFFs. It is not supported as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but denial of service can affect document ingestion, media pipelines, or automated conversion services.
Technical view
CVE-2023-0797 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in the LibTIFF 4.4.0 tiffcrop path, involving libtiff/tif_unix.c and tools/tiffcrop.c. A crafted TIFF can trigger denial of service, with possible limited confidentiality impact per CVSS 3.1 score 6.8. Source-built users are directed to commit afaabc3e.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where systems run LibTIFF or tiff tools at version 4.4.0 or earlier and process TIFF files from users, partners, email, uploads, batch jobs, or document conversion workflows. Packaged Linux distributions may have backported fixes under unchanged upstream version labels.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or other evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires a crafted TIFF reaching a vulnerable tiffcrop processing path. The cited impact is denial of service, not remote code execution.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on reachable tiffcrop use, not merely passive library presence. The provided CVSS vector is local, but the operational risk depends on whether remote users can cause server-side TIFF processing. Evidence names <=4.4.0 and a specific upstream fix commit.
Mitigation direction
- Apply updated tiff/libtiff packages from Debian, Gentoo, or the relevant OS vendor.
- For source builds, include upstream fix commit afaabc3e or upgrade beyond the affected release.
- Limit processing of untrusted TIFF files until affected systems are updated.
- Review image-processing services, converters, and batch jobs for tiffcrop or LibTIFF dependency use.
Validation and detection
- Inventory servers, containers, and applications for LibTIFF or tiff tools version 4.4.0 or earlier.
- Confirm whether vendor packages include the CVE-2023-0797 backport fix.
- Identify workflows that accept untrusted TIFF files and invoke tiffcrop.
- Verify patched builds against the upstream commit or distribution security advisory.
- Check monitoring for crashes in TIFF-processing jobs after suspicious file submissions.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-0797 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H2.54.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/commit/afaabc3e50d4e5d80a94143f7e3c997e7e410f68CVE reference
- https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/495CVE reference
- https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cves/-/blob/master/2023/CVE-2023-0797.jsonCVE reference
- [debian-lts-announce] 20230221 [SECURITY] [DLA 3333-1] tiff security updateCVE reference · mailing-list
- DSA-5361CVE reference · vendor-advisory
- GLSA-202305-31CVE reference · vendor-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.