CVE-2023-38546

Publication date 11 October 2023

Last updated 4 August 2025


Ubuntu priority

Cvss 3 Severity Score

3.7 · Low

Score breakdown

Description

This flaw allows an attacker to insert cookies at will into a running program using libcurl, if the specific series of conditions are met. libcurl performs transfers. In its API, an application creates "easy handles" that are the individual handles for single transfers. libcurl provides a function call that duplicates en easy handle called [curl_easy_duphandle](https://curl.se/libcurl/c/curl_easy_duphandle.html). If a transfer has cookies enabled when the handle is duplicated, the cookie-enable state is also cloned - but without cloning the actual cookies. If the source handle did not read any cookies from a specific file on disk, the cloned version of the handle would instead store the file name as `none` (using the four ASCII letters, no quotes). Subsequent use of the cloned handle that does not explicitly set a source to load cookies from would then inadvertently load cookies from a file named `none` - if such a file exists and is readable in the current directory of the program using libcurl. And if using the correct file format of course.

Read the notes from the security team

Why is this CVE low priority?

Per upstream, this is a low-severity issue

Learn more about Ubuntu priority

Status

Package Ubuntu Release Status
curl 26.10 stonking
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
26.04 LTS resolute
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
25.10 questing
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
25.04 plucky
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
24.10 oracular
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
24.04 LTS noble
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
23.10 mantic
Fixed in 8.2.1-1ubuntu3.1
23.04 lunar
Fixed in 7.88.1-8ubuntu2.3
22.04 LTS jammy
Fixed in 7.81.0-1ubuntu1.14
20.04 LTS focal
Fixed in 7.68.0-1ubuntu2.20
18.04 LTS bionic
Fixed in 7.58.0-2ubuntu3.24+esm2
16.04 LTS xenial
Fixed in 7.47.0-1ubuntu2.19+esm10
14.04 LTS trusty
Fixed in 7.35.0-1ubuntu2.20+esm17

Get expanded security coverage with Ubuntu Pro

Reduce your average CVE exposure time from 98 days to 1 day with expanded CVE patching, ten-years security maintenance and optional support for the full stack of open-source applications. Free for personal use.

Get Ubuntu Pro 30-day free trial

Notes


mdeslaur

introduced in https://github.com/curl/curl/commit/74d5a6fb3b9a96d9f

Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. How can I get the fixes?

Package Patch details
curl

Severity score breakdown

CVSS version: CVSS v3.0

Base score 3.7 · Low

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

References

Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)

Other references


Access our resources on patching vulnerabilities