# CVE-2023-53154: Memory corruption in cJSON

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

- **Severity:** Low 2.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 May 2025
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **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

## 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 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53154?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cjson Project Cjson.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53154?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-53154 being exploited?

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

## Other vulnerabilities in cJSON

- [CVE-2024-31755](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-31755/): Null dereference in n/a (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2023-26819](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26819/): Denial of service in cJSON (low 2.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53154 and fix it if it is affected.

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

Affected product: cJSON. 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-2023-53154/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53154/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53154
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53154
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53154

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53154/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.