Review reviewHigh

CVE-2023-29491

ncurses

ncurses before 6.4 20230408, when used by a setuid application, allows local users to trigger security-relevant memory corruption via malformed data in a terminfo database file that is found in $HOME/.terminfo or reached via the TERMINFO or TERM environment variable.

CVSS
7.8
EPSS
0.92%
56.9% percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Published
2023.04.14
PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV
Exploit probability0.92%
Technical severityCVSS 7.8

Vulnerability overview

ncurses before 6.4 20230408, when used by a setuid application, allows local users to trigger security-relevant memory corruption via malformed data in a terminfo database file that is found in $HOME/.terminfo or reached via the TERMINFO or TERM environment variable.

Affected product and versions

Product
ncurses
Affected versions
< 6.4
Fixed versions
6.4

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide
  1. 1
    Identify

    Confirm that ncurses and an affected version are present.

  2. 2
    Prioritize

    Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.

  3. 3
    Remediate

    Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.

  4. 4
    Verify

    Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
CWE-787