CVE-2023-53154 Memory corruption in cJSON

Low 2.9 Published 23 May 2025 Updated 3 Nov 2025

A heap-based buffer over-read in cJSON allows attackers to cause denial of service or disclose sensitive memory contents via crafted JSON input.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2023-53154?

CVE-2023-53154 is a low-severity memory corruption vulnerability in cJSON, published on 23 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

parse_string in cJSON before 1.7.18 has a heap-based buffer over-read via {"1":1, with no trailing newline if cJSON_ParseWithLength is called.

Weakness: CWE-125

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53154?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Cjson Project Cjson.

How do I fix CVE-2023-53154?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2023-53154 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-53154 exists.

Sources

Also known as AZL-62005, AZL-67455, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53154, GHSA-8h4w-44qv-79mq, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2023-53154, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53154.