CVE-2023-4491
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow vulnerability in Easy Address Book Web Server 1.6 version. The exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to send a very long username string to /searchbook.ghp, asking for the name via a POST request, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the remote machine.
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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Easy Address Book Web Server 1.6 when processing POST requests to /searchbook.ghp. By sending an excessively long username string, an attacker can overflow the buffer and achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the web server process.
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= 1.6CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Easy Address Book Web Server is runningCheck for the web server process or service running on the host. Look for processes named 'AddressBook' or listening on common HTTP ports (8080, 80) if the application is known to be installed.Affected if The software is running as a service or process on the system
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Verify the installed versionLocate the application installation directory and check for version information in the executable, About dialog, or version metadata. Compare the found version against the affected version 1.6.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.6
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Confirm the web server is accessibleAttempt to reach the web server via HTTP/HTTPS from a client system. Check if the service responds to requests on its configured port.Affected if The web server is accessible and responding to HTTP requests
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Verify the /searchbook.ghp endpoint is exposedSend a POST request to the /searchbook.ghp endpoint using a tool like curl or a web vulnerability scanner. Check if the endpoint accepts requests.Affected if The /searchbook.ghp endpoint is accessible and accepts POST requests
If Easy Address Book Web Server version 1.6 is running and the /searchbook.ghp endpoint is accessible, the environment is affected by this buffer overflow vulnerability.
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.
From vendor dataIf a patched version of Easy Address Book Web Server is available, upgrade immediately. Otherwise, consider migrating to a maintained address book solution or implement input length validation at a reverse proxy/WAF level as a compensating control until a permanent replacement is found.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4491 — 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-2023-4491 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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