Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-53160 affects Rust applications using the sequoia-openpgp crate before 1.16.0. A malformed or edge-case input can trigger out-of-bounds access that causes a panic. The documented impact is limited availability loss, not data theft or code execution.
Executive priority
Treat as a routine dependency update unless the affected component processes untrusted OpenPGP data in critical workflows. Business risk appears low based on the documented impact.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in sequoia-openpgp before 1.16.0, producing a Rust panic. CVSS 3.1 is 2.9 with local attack vector, high complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and low availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to Rust services, tools, or libraries that depend on sequoia-openpgp before 1.16.0, directly or transitively. Systems parsing OpenPGP data are most relevant.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not indicate active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. The CVSS vector describes local, high-complexity exploitation with availability impact only.
Researcher notes
Evidence is narrow: the bundle identifies the vulnerable crate range and panic behavior but does not provide detailed trigger conditions. Avoid assuming broader memory corruption, remote reachability, or confidentiality impact without vendor evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade sequoia-openpgp to 1.16.0 or later where feasible.
- Check vendor and RustSec guidance for any additional remediation notes.
- Update transitive dependencies that pin vulnerable sequoia-openpgp versions.
- Prioritize internet-facing or automation-heavy OpenPGP parsing paths.
Validation and detection
- Review Cargo.toml, Cargo.lock, and SBOMs for sequoia-openpgp versions before 1.16.0.
- Use Rust dependency audit tooling against the current lockfile.
- Confirm deployed artifacts no longer include vulnerable crate versions.
- Review error handling around OpenPGP parsing for panic-driven availability risk.
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-2023-53160 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
- 2.9 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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.
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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L1.41.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
2.9LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://crates.io/crates/sequoia-openpgpCVE reference
- https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2023-0038.htmlCVE reference
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-25mx-8f3v-8wh7CVE reference
- https://lists.sequoia-pgp.org/hyperkitty/list/announce@lists.sequoia-pgp.org/thread/SN2E3QRT4DMQ5JNEK6VIN6DJ5SH766DI/CVE reference
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.