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CVE-2023-25139

Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2023-25139 — gnu — glibc

sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with a correct buffer size. This is unrelated to CWE-676. It may write beyond the bounds of the destination buffer when attempting to write a padded, thousands-separated string representation of a number, if the buffer is allocated the exact size required to represent that number as a string. For example, 1,234,567 (with padding to 13) overflows by two bytes.

Wednesday, October 14, 2026gnuVulnios Threat Intelligence
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Vulnerability Snapshot

CVE-2023-25139 is rated CRITICAL — exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.

Affected technology: glibc.

Executive Summary

sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with a correct buffer size. This is unrelated to CWE-676. It may write beyond the bounds of the destination buffer when attempting to write a padded, thousands-separated string representation of a number, if the buffer is allocated the exact size required to represent that number as a string. For example, 1,234,567 (with padding to 13) overflows by two bytes.

Why It Matters

CVE-2023-25139 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.

CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10

Affected Technologies

Vendors: gnu

Products: glibc

🛡️What Defenders Should Check

  • Check if you are affected — Review your asset inventory for products listed in CVE-2023-25139.
  • Apply available patches — Visit vendor advisories for the latest security updates.
  • Monitor for exploitation — Check your SIEM/IDS logs for related indicators.

    • Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2023-25139 and similar vulnerabilities.

    References & Sources

  • http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/02/10/1
  • https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230302-0010/
  • https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=30068
  • http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/02/10/1
  • https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230302-0010/
  • https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=30068
  • https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html

    • How Vulnios Detects This

    Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for CVE matching against your container images and OS package manifests. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.

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    Affected Products

    glibc

    Sources

    Related Threat Alerts

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is CVE-2023-25139?

    CVE-2023-25139 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with a correct buffer size. This is unrelated to CWE-676. It may write beyond the bounds of the

    Am I affected?

    Check whether your environment runs glibc. If you operate any of those, treat yourself as in scope until you have evidence otherwise. A Vulnios scan will identify the exact assets carrying the affected version.

    How urgent is the response?

    Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.

    How do I remediate?

    Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.

    Where can I track exploitation activity?

    Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2023-25139. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.

    How does Vulnios help with this?

    Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.

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