CVE-2023-38545
CWE-787Published: October 18, 2023· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
This flaw makes curl overflow a heap based buffer in the SOCKS5 proxy
handshake.
When curl is asked to pass along the host name to the SOCKS5 proxy to allow
that to resolve the address instead of it getting done by curl itself, the
maximum length that host name can be is 255 bytes.
If the host name is detected to be longer, curl switches to local name
resolving and instead passes on the resolved address only. Due to this bug,
the local variable that means "let the host resolve the name" could get the
wrong value during a slow SOCKS5 handshake, and contrary to the intention,
copy the too long host name to the target buffer instead of copying just the
resolved address there.
The target buffer being a heap based buffer, and the host name coming from the
URL that curl has been told to operate with.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2023-38545 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.
From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-787): Out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities can lead to data corruption, crashes, or arbitrary code execution.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
News & Research Mentioning CVE-2023-38545
View CSAF Summary Versions V6.0 through V8 QU1 of the Desigo CC product family (Desigo CC, Desigo CC Compact, Desigo CC Connect, Cerberus DMS), as well as the Desigo CC-based SENTRON Powermanager, are affected by a vulnerability in the underlying third-party component WIBU Systems CodeMeter Runtime. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to code execution in the context of the current process. Siemens has released instructions how to update the CodeMeter Runtime component and recommends to apply the update on affected systems. The following versions of Siemens Desigo CC Product Family and SENTRON Powermanager are affected: Desigo CC family V6 vers:all/* (CVE-2023-38545) Desigo CC family V7 vers:all/* (CVE-2023-38545) Desigo CC famil [xlite_meta score:53 src:CISA Alerts xlite_fp:c9659ad687696829cbb80bb9895bde9f65680609a1d4760f4a8390c64cea0930]
All References (34)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-787)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2023-38545 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts