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LibwebpApplication · Webmproject

CVE-2023-1999

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
There exists a use after free/double free in libwebp. An attacker can use the ApplyFiltersAndEncode() function and loop through to free best.bw and assign best = trial pointer. The second loop will then return 0 because of an Out of memory error in VP8 encoder, the pointer is still assigned to trial and the AddressSanitizer will attempt a double free.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A use-after-free and double-free vulnerability exists in libwebp's ApplyFiltersAndEncode() function. During encoding operations with specific error conditions (Out of Memory), the code frees best.bw and assigns best to trial pointer, but the second loop still references the freed pointer, causing AddressSanitizer to detect a double free.

MitigationUpdate libwebp to the latest patched version that addresses this double-free vulnerability in the VP8 encoder's ApplyFiltersAndEncode function.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
LibwebpApplication
Affected:>= 0.4.2, < 1.3.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed libwebp version
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep libwebp' on Debian/Ubuntu, 'rpm -qa | grep libwebp' on RHEL/CentOS, or check the shared library file with 'ldd' on an application using libwebp. You can also run 'strings /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwebp.so.7 | grep "^1\.'” or similar to extract version info from the binary.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is missing from package managers, indicating a non-standard installation.
  2. Compare version against affected range
    Review the installed version number and check if it falls within the range: greater than or equal to 0.4.2 AND less than 1.3.1.
    Affected if The installed version is 0.4.2 through 1.3.0 inclusive.
  3. Confirm VP8 encoding is in use
    Inspect application logs, configuration, or code that invokes libwebp encoding functions. Look for calls to VP8EncEncode() or related VP8 encoder APIs, or check if the application processes WebP files with lossy compression.
    Affected if The application or service uses libwebp for lossy WebP encoding, which invokes the VP8 encoder path where the vulnerable function resides.
  4. Check for prior AddressSanitizer reports
    Search application logs, crash dumps, or ASan output files for messages containing 'double-free' or 'use-after-free' related to libwebp, especially during encoding operations.
    Affected if ASan or crash reports reference a double-free in ApplyFiltersAndEncode or involve libwebp memory corruption during encoding.

If libwebp version is between 0.4.2 and 1.3.0 inclusive and VP8 lossy encoding is performed, the environment is likely affected by this double-free vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.3.1 or later
Fixed in 1.3.1
Interim mitigation

Update libwebp to the latest patched version that addresses this double-free vulnerability in the VP8 encoder's ApplyFiltersAndEncode function.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

libwebp >= 1.3.1

  1. Identify the libwebp library in your project (check package.json, requirements.txt, or build configuration files)
  2. Use your package manager to update libwebp to version 1.3.1 or later
  3. For example: npm install [email protected], pip install --upgrade webp, or equivalent for your package manager
  4. If using a system library, recompile your application against the updated libwebp version
  5. Rebuild and redeploy your application
  6. Verify the fix by testing image encoding/decoding operations that previously triggered the issue

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Libwebp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-1999 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data