CVE-2023-25363
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 · uneditedA use-after-free vulnerability in WebCore::RenderLayer::updateDescendantDependentFlags in WebKitGTK before 2.36.8 allows attackers to execute code remotely.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in WebCore::RenderLayer::updateDescendantDependentFlags in WebKitGTK versions prior to 2.36.8. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting improper memory management when updating descendant-dependent flags in the rendering layer.
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< 2.36.8CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify WebKitGTK installationCheck for installed WebKitGTK packages using your system's package manager (dpkg -l, rpm -qa, or pacman -Q) and look for packages named webkit2gtk, webkitgtk, or similar WebKit-related packages.Affected if WebKitGTK is installed on the system
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Determine installed WebKitGTK versionRun pkg-config --modversion webkit2gtk-4.1 (or webkit2gtk-4.0 for older installations) to retrieve the exact version number of the installed WebKitGTK library.Affected if The version returned is lower than 2.36.8 (for example, 2.36.0 through 2.36.7 are affected)
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Verify WebKit is being used by applicationsIdentify applications that depend on WebKitGTK (such as web browsers, email clients, or GTK-based applications that render HTML) by checking running processes or examining application dependencies.Affected if Any application using WebKitGTK to render untrusted web content is potentially vulnerable if the library version is below 2.36.8
You are affected by this CVE if WebKitGTK version 2.36.7 or lower is installed and any application uses it to process web content.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2.36.8
Upgrade WebKitGTK to version 2.36.8 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Organizations unable to upgrade immediately should disable or restrict access to untrusted web content as a compensating control.
WebKitGTK 2.36.8
- Identify the current version of WebKitGTK installed in your system
- Upgrade WebKitGTK to version 2.36.8 or later using your distribution's package manager or by building from source
- Rebuild or restart any applications that depend on WebKitGTK to use the updated library
- Verify the installed version is 2.36.8 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25363 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-25363 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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