# CVE-2023-46049: Null dereference in n/a

> A crafted file can cause a null pointer dereference crash in llvm-lto, resulting in a denial of service for developers using the tool.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Mar 2024
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vggp-p864-ph99, OESA-2024-1481

## What is CVE-2023-46049?

CVE-2023-46049 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 Mar 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

LLVM 15.0.0 has a NULL pointer dereference in the parseOneMetadata() function via a crafted pdflatex.fmt file (or perhaps a crafted .o file) to llvm-lto. NOTE: this is disputed because the relationship between pdflatex.fmt and any LLVM language front end is not explained, and because a crash of the llvm-lto application should be categorized as a usability problem.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-46049?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-46049?

No fix published yet.

## Is CVE-2023-46049 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-46049 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-46049 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-46049 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 Mar 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-46049 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2023-46049/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46049/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-46049
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46049
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-46049

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-46049/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.