{"id":"UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255","details":"An out-of-bounds write issue has been discovered in the backspace handling of the checkType() function in etc.c within the W3M application. This vulnerability is triggered by supplying a specially crafted HTML file to the w3m binary. Exploitation of this flaw could lead to application crashes, resulting in a denial of service condition.","modified":"2026-01-30T02:38:55.277272Z","published":"2024-01-02T00:00:00Z","related":["USN-6580-1"],"upstream":["CVE-2023-4255"],"references":[{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-4255"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://github.com/tats/w3m/pull/273"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6580-1"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-4255"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2+esm2?arch=source&distro=trusty/esm"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2+esm2"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3-11","0.5.3-12","0.5.3-13","0.5.3-15","0.5.3-15ubuntu0.1","0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2","0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2+esm1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2+esm2"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3-15ubuntu0.2+esm2"}],"availability":"Available with Ubuntu Pro (Infra-only): https://ubuntu.com/pro"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}},{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:16.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3-26ubuntu0.2?arch=source&distro=xenial"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3-24","0.5.3-25","0.5.3-26","0.5.3-26build1","0.5.3-26ubuntu0.1","0.5.3-26ubuntu0.2"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3-26ubuntu0.2"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3-26ubuntu0.2"}]},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}},{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3-36ubuntu0.1+esm1?arch=source&distro=esm-infra/bionic"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.5.3-36ubuntu0.1+esm1"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3-34","0.5.3-34.1","0.5.3-35","0.5.3-36","0.5.3-36build1","0.5.3-36ubuntu0.1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3-36ubuntu0.1+esm1"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3-36ubuntu0.1+esm1"}],"availability":"Available with Ubuntu Pro (Infra-only): https://ubuntu.com/pro"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}},{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3-37ubuntu0.2?arch=source&distro=focal"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.5.3-37ubuntu0.2"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3-37","0.5.3-37ubuntu0.1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3-37ubuntu0.2"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3-37ubuntu0.2"}],"availability":"No subscription required"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}},{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3+git20210102-6ubuntu0.2?arch=source&distro=jammy"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.5.3+git20210102-6ubuntu0.2"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3+git20210102-6build1","0.5.3+git20210102-6build2","0.5.3+git20210102-6build3","0.5.3+git20210102-6ubuntu0.1"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3+git20210102-6ubuntu0.2"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3+git20210102-6ubuntu0.2"}],"availability":"No subscription required"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}},{"package":{"name":"w3m","ecosystem":"Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","purl":"pkg:deb/ubuntu/w3m@0.5.3+git20230121-2ubuntu1?arch=source&distro=noble"},"ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.5.3+git20230121-2ubuntu1"}]}],"versions":["0.5.3+git20230121-2"],"ecosystem_specific":{"binaries":[{"binary_name":"w3m","binary_version":"0.5.3+git20230121-2ubuntu1"},{"binary_name":"w3m-img","binary_version":"0.5.3+git20230121-2ubuntu1"}],"availability":"No subscription required"},"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices/blob/main/osv/cve/2023/UBUNTU-CVE-2023-4255.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.7.3","severity":[{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},{"type":"CVSS_V3","score":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},{"type":"Ubuntu","score":"medium"}]}