CVE-2023-52169
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 an out-of-bounds read that allows an attacker to read beyond the intended buffer. The bytes read beyond the intended buffer are presented as a part of a filename listed in the file system image. This has security relevance in some known web-service use cases where untrusted users can upload files and have them extracted by a server-side 7-Zip process.
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 confidenceThe NTFS handler in 7-Zip versions before 24.01 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in NtfsHandler.cpp. When processing a specially crafted NTFS filesystem image, the handler reads beyond the allocated buffer, exposing memory contents that appear as filenames in the directory listing. This allows an attacker to potentially leak sensitive memory contents through untrusted file extraction workflows.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Find the installed 7-Zip executableLocate 7z.exe (typically in C:\Program Files\7-Zip\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\7-Zip\) or check your system's PATH for the 7z commandAffected if 7-Zip executable is present on the system
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Determine the 7-Zip versionRun '7z' or '7z --help' from command line and look for the version number in the output, or right-click the 7z.exe file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the Product versionAffected if The displayed version is earlier than 24.01 (for example, 23.01, 22.01, etc.)
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Identify if NTFS image processing occursSearch your workflows for any automated or manual extraction of NTFS filesystem images (.img, .vhd, .vhdx, or raw disk images known to contain NTFS) from untrusted sources, including user uploads, email attachments, or network sharesAffected if Untrusted NTFS filesystem images are processed by 7-Zip in any extraction workflow
You are affected if 7-Zip version is below 24.01 AND your environment processes NTFS filesystem images from untrusted or external sources using 7-Zip's extraction functionality.
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 24.01 or later to obtain the patched NTFS handler. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, implement strict validation to reject or sandbox untrusted NTFS images before server-side extraction, or disable automated extraction of uploaded files entirely.
7-Zip 24.01 or later
- Identify all systems running 7-Zip versions before 24.01 that handle untrusted NTFS images
- Download 7-Zip version 24.01 or later from the official 7-Zip website (https://www.7-zip.org/)
- Install the updated version on affected systems
- Verify the installation shows version 24.01 or later by checking Help > About in the 7-Zip GUI or running '7z' command with version flag
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2023-52169 — 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-2023-52169 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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