# CVE-2023-50230: BlueZ Phone Book Access Profile Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> Network-adjacent attackers can execute arbitrary code with root privileges via a heap buffer overflow in BlueZ's Phone Book Access Profile.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 May 2024
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** AZL-40237, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-50230, GHSA-w9r2-6h22-p3p7, OESA-2024-1019, OESA-2024-1056, ROOT-OS-ALPINE-317-CVE-2023-50230, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-50230

## What is CVE-2023-50230?

CVE-2023-50230 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in BlueZ, published on 3 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

BlueZ Phone Book Access Profile Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of BlueZ. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must connect to a malicious Bluetooth device.

The specific flaw exists within the handling of the Phone Book Access profile. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-20938.

Weakness: CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-50230?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Bluez Bluez.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-50230?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-50230 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-50230 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in BlueZ

- [CVE-2021-43400](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43400/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-8805](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-8805/): BlueZ HID over GATT Profile Improper Access Control Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-39176](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39176/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-39177](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39177/): Denial of service in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-0204](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0204/): Memory corruption in bluez (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-50230 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-50230 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in BlueZ, published on 3 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-50230 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: BlueZ. 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-2023-50230/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-50230/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50230
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-50230
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-50230

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-50230/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.