CVE-2023-52168
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 · uneditedThe NtfsHandler.cpp NTFS handler in 7-Zip before 24.01 (for 7zz) contains a heap-based buffer overflow that allows an attacker to overwrite two bytes at multiple offsets beyond the allocated buffer size: buffer+512*i-2, for i=9, i=10, i=11, etc.
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 heap-based buffer overflow exists in 7-Zip's NTFS handler (NtfsHandler.cpp) prior to version 24.01. The vulnerability allows controlled out-of-bounds writes of 2 bytes at calculated offsets (buffer+512*i-2 for i>=9) beyond allocated heap buffers when processing malicious NTFS images.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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.
-
Check if 7-Zip is installedLook for 7z.exe in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\7-Zip\7z.exe, or use the command 'where 7z.exe' to locate it in your system PATHAffected if 7-Zip is not found on the system - the vulnerability does not apply
-
Determine the installed 7-Zip versionRun '7z.exe --help' or right-click on 7z.exe and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. Alternatively, use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if The version cannot be determined - assume vulnerable if 7-Zip is present
-
Compare version to the fixed releaseCompare the installed version number to 24.01. Note that version 24.01 and later are fixed, while any version prior to 24.01 (including 23.x, 22.x, 21.x and older) is affectedAffected if The installed version is lower than 24.01 (for example, 23.01, 22.01, 19.00) - the system is running a vulnerable version
-
Identify NTFS image processing usageDetermine if users process NTFS disk images (.img, .dd, .vhd files that contain NTFS filesystems) with 7-Zip. This vulnerability is triggered specifically when 7-Zip parses NTFS volume images contained in archive files or as standalone filesAffected if NTFS images are processed with vulnerable 7-Zip versions - the vulnerability can be triggered
A system is affected if 7-Zip version lower than 24.01 is installed and users process NTFS disk images with it, as the heap overflow occurs in the NTFS handler when parsing malicious NTFS volumes.
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 · scopedUpgrade to 7-Zip version 24.01 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Avoid processing untrusted NTFS images with older 7-Zip versions.
7-Zip version 24.01 or later
- 1. Identify the current version of 7-Zip installed on the system
- 2. Navigate to the official 7-Zip website at https://www.7-zip.org/
- 3. Download version 24.01 or later for your operating system (Windows, Linux, or macOS)
- 4. Uninstall the existing version of 7-Zip
- 5. Install the newly downloaded version (24.01 or later)
- 6. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 24.01
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-52168 — 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-2023-52168 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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