# CVE-2023-33221: Heap Buffer Overflow when reading DESFire card

> A heap buffer overflow in IDEMIA biometric devices allows remote code execution when reading DESFire cards, particularly with default keys.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Dec 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f275-pcv5-ch9x

## What is CVE-2023-33221?

CVE-2023-33221 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in IDEMIA MorphoWave Compact/XP, published on 15 Dec 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When reading DesFire keys, the function that reads the card isn't properly checking the boundaries when copying 
internally the data received. This allows a heap based buffer overflow that could lead to a potential Remote Code 
Execution on the targeted device. This is especially problematic if you use Default DESFire key.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-33221?

It affects 8 products.


Products: Idemia Morphowave Compact Firmware, Idemia Morphowave Sp Firmware, Idemia Morphowave Xp Firmware, Idemia Sigma Extreme Firmware, Idemia Sigma Lite\+ Firmware, Idemia Sigma Lite Firmware, Idemia Sigma Wide Firmware, Idemia Visionpass Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-33221?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-33221 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-33221 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33221 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IDEMIA MorphoWave Compact/XP

- [CVE-2023-33218](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33218/): Stack Buffer Overflow in a binary run at upgrade startup (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2023-33219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33219/): Stack Buffer Overflow when checking retrofit package (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2023-33220](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33220/): Stack Buffer Overflow when checking some attributes during retrofit (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2023-4667](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-4667/): Stored Cross Site Scripting in webserver administration (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-33217](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33217/): Missing integrity check on upgrade package (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-33221 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-33221 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in IDEMIA MorphoWave Compact/XP, published on 15 Dec 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-33221 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IDEMIA MorphoWave Compact/XP. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33221/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33221/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-33221
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33221
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-33221

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33221/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.