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Enterprise LinuxOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2023-43787

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.8.7 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A vulnerability was found in libX11 due to an integer overflow within the XCreateImage() function. This flaw allows a local user to trigger an integer overflow and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

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 · moderate confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in libX11's XCreateImage() function due to an integer overflow. An attacker can exploit this by crafting malicious input that causes the integer overflow, leading to heap-based buffer overflow and arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply the official libX11 security patch to address the integer overflow in XCreateImage(). Prioritize patching systems running X11 servers or any applications using libX11 for image processing, as the vulnerability allows local privilege escalation.

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
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 38
Libx11Application
Affected:< 1.8.7

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed libX11 package version
    On RHEL/Fedora systems, run: rpm -qa | grep -i libx11. On Debian-based systems, run: dpkg -l | grep -i libx11. Check the version number in the output.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.8.7, or the package version matches RHEL 8.0, RHEL 9.0, or Fedora 38 specifically.
  2. Verify X11 server is running
    Run command: ps aux | grep -E '[X|x]org|[X|x]11' or check system logs for X server activity. Also check if /var/log/Xorg.0.log exists.
    Affected if The X server is actively running, as the vulnerability affects XCreateImage() function used in X11 environments.
  3. Identify applications using libX11 for image processing
    Run: ldd /usr/bin/* 2>/dev/null | grep libX11 or check running processes that may utilize libX11 for image handling. Review any custom applications using XCreateImage() function.
    Affected if Applications linked against libX11 and performing image operations are in use on the system.
  4. Confirm system architecture matches affected configurations
    Verify the OS distribution: cat /etc/os-release for RHEL/Fedora. The vulnerability specifically affects RHEL 8.0, RHEL 9.0, and Fedora 38 systems.
    Affected if The system runs RHEL 8.0, RHEL 9.0, or Fedora 38 without the security patch applied.

A system is affected if it has libX11 installed with a version below 1.8.7, or matches RHEL 8.0/9.0 or Fedora 38, and runs X11 or applications using libX11 for image processing.

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 1.8.7 or later
Fixed in 1.8.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the official libX11 security patch to address the integer overflow in XCreateImage(). Prioritize patching systems running X11 servers or any applications using libX11 for image processing, as the vulnerability allows local privilege escalation.

Recommended fix High confidence

libX11 version 1.8.7 or later

  1. Check the current version of libX11 installed: `rpm -q libX11`
  2. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, update via: `sudo dnf update libX11`
  3. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, update via: `sudo dnf update libX11`
  4. For Fedora 38, update via: `sudo dnf update libX11`
  5. Verify the updated version is 1.8.7 or later: `rpm -q libX11`
  6. Restart any X11-dependent applications or reboot the system to ensure the new library is loaded
Caveat Updating X11 libraries may require restarting graphical applications; ensure to save work before applying updates

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-43787 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