PT-2023-5211 · Curl+6 · Curl+6

Selmelc

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Published

2023-07-17

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Updated

2026-05-18

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CVE-2023-38039

CVSS v2.0

10

High

VectorAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions curl versions prior to 8.4.0
Description The issue is related to the handling of HTTP headers by the curl utility. When curl retrieves an HTTP response, it stores the incoming headers so that they can be accessed later via the libcurl headers API. However, curl did not have a limit on the size or quantity of headers it would accept in a response, allowing a malicious server to stream an endless series of headers and eventually cause curl to run out of heap memory. This can lead to a denial of service. A malicious server can exploit this issue, and it is estimated that a significant number of devices may be affected.
Recommendations For versions prior to 8.4.0, update to curl version 8.4.0 to resolve the issue. As a temporary workaround, consider restricting the size and quantity of HTTP headers accepted by curl to minimize the risk of exploitation.

Exploit

Fix

DoS

Allocation of Resources Without Limits

Weakness Enumeration

Related Identifiers

ALT-PU-2023-5709
ALT-PU-2023-5710
ALT-PU-2023-5711
ALT-PU-2023-5727
AZL-28833
AZL-29698
AZL-38341
BDU:2023-05819
CLEANSTART-2026-AY18527
CLEANSTART-2026-BW46578
CLEANSTART-2026-DI23929
CLEANSTART-2026-LQ42192
CLEANSTART-2026-OF85770
CVE-2023-38039
MGASA-2023-0263
OPENSUSE-SU-2023_3823-1
OPENSUSE-SU-2024:13230-1
RHSA-2023:7625
SUSE-SU-2023:3692-1
SUSE-SU-2023:3823-1
SUSE-SU-2023_3692-1
SUSE-SU-2023_3823-1
USN-6363-1

Affected Products

Alt Linux
Apple Macos
Red Os
Suse
Ubuntu
Windows
Curl