CVE-2023-25139: sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with

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CRITICAL 9.8REMOTEMITIGATE

CVE-2023-25139 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.8) affecting glibc. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with a correct buffer size. This is unrelated to CWE-676. It may write beyond the bounds of the destination buffer when attempting to write a padded, thousands-separated string representation of a number, if the buffer is allocated the exact size required to represent that number as a string. For example, 1,234,567 (with padding to 13) overflo

Why this priority

Critical severity
Public exploit reference
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	9.8 (Critical)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	1.5% (top 26%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-787
Published	2023-02-03
Last modified	2026-10-14

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: gnu

Last updated 2026-10-14 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2023-02-03 06:15 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-10-14 23:17 UTCUpdated Record last modified

gnu glibc MITIGATE

Affected: 2.37

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy glibc || rpm -q glibc || glibc --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

Downgrade not recommended

This is a core system component: downgrading can break the OS. Apply the distro update or the vendor mitigation.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2023-25139?

glibc: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2023-25139 being exploited?

CVE-2023-25139 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2023-25139 affect?

CVE-2023-25139 affects glibc. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). sprintf in the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.37 has a buffer overflow (out-of-bounds write) in some situations with a correct buffer size. This is unrelated to CWE-676. It may write beyond the bounds of the destination buffer when attempting to w

How urgent is CVE-2023-25139?

Priority 63/100. Critical severity; Public exploit reference; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Software pages

glibc vulnerabilities

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References

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