Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-4875 is a low-severity crash issue in Mutt. A user composing from a specially crafted draft message can trigger a null pointer dereference, causing limited availability impact. It does not indicate data theft, privilege escalation, or remote compromise in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Handle through normal patch management, not emergency response. Prioritize shared Unix/Linux environments and developer or administrator workstations where Mutt is actively used. Business risk is limited to user-level disruption.
Technical view
The CVE describes undefined behavior/null pointer dereference in Mutt when composing from a crafted draft message. The stated affected range is Mutt greater than 1.5.2 and less than 2.2.12. CVSS 3.1 is 2.2: local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges, user interaction required, availability-only impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant on systems where users run vulnerable Mutt versions and handle saved or imported draft messages. Server-side exposure is unlikely unless Mutt is installed and used interactively or through user workflows involving drafts.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires local context, user interaction, and a specially crafted draft message. Expected impact is application crash or disruption, not compromise.
Researcher notes
The bundle contains a minor data inconsistency: the affected object lists version 1.5.2, while the description states greater than 1.5.2 and less than 2.2.12. Use upstream commits and distribution advisories to confirm exact package status.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Mutt to a fixed upstream or distribution package.
- Prioritize Debian systems using the referenced Debian security advisories.
- Avoid opening or composing from untrusted draft messages until updated.
- Check vendor or distribution guidance for exact fixed package versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems with Mutt installed.
- Compare installed versions against the stated affected range: greater than 1.5.2 and less than 2.2.12.
- Confirm Debian security updates from DSA-5494 or LTS advisory are applied where relevant.
- Verify mail client workflows do not rely on untrusted draft files.
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-475: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-4875 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 2.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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.
SSVC decision data
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:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L0.81.4GitLabVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
2.2LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/commit/452ee330e094bfc7c9a68555e5152b1826534555.patchCVE reference, GitLab
- https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/commit/4cc3128abdf52c615911589394a03271fddeefc6.patchCVE reference, GitLab
- https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5494CVE reference, CVE · x_transferred
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00021.htmlCVE reference, CVE · x_transferred
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.
Undefined Behavior for Input to API
Undefined Behavior for Input to API represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.