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CVE-2023-38745

Status: ModifiedMedium (6.3)—

Pandoc before 3.1.6 allows arbitrary file write: this can be triggered by providing a crafted image element in the input when generating files via the --extract-media option or outputting to PDF format. This allows an attacker to create or overwrite arbitrary files, depending on the privileges of the process running Pandoc. It only affects systems that pass untrusted user input to Pandoc and allow Pandoc to be used to produce a PDF or with the --extract-media option. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-35936 (failure to properly account for double encoded path names).

CVSS

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

Affected technologies (2)

Debian — Debian LinuxPandoc — Pandoc

CWEs

References

Raw JSON (NVD)

Show
{
  "id": "CVE-2023-38745",
  "cveTags": [],
  "metrics": {
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          "options": [
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              "exploitation": "none"
            },
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              "automatable": "no"
            },
            {
              "technicalImpact": "total"
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          "version": "2.0.3",
          "timestamp": "2024-10-24T14:07:30.329393Z"
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          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
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        "impactScore": 5.2,
        "exploitabilityScore": 1
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  "published": "2023-07-25T04:15:10.633",
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      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
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    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "Pandoc before 3.1.6 allows arbitrary file write: this can be triggered by providing a crafted image element in the input when generating files via the --extract-media option or outputting to PDF format. This allows an attacker to create or overwrite arbitrary files, depending on the privileges of the process running Pandoc. It only affects systems that pass untrusted user input to Pandoc and allow Pandoc to be used to produce a PDF or with the --extract-media option. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-35936 (failure to properly account for double encoded path names)."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-06-17T06:11:05.343",
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    {
      "nodes": [
        {
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  "sourceIdentifier": "cve@mitre.org"
}