Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-2491

A flaw was found in the Emacs text editor. Processing a specially crafted org-mode code with the "org-babel-execute:latex" function in ob-latex.el can result in arbitrary command execution. This CVE exists because of a CVE-2023-28617 security regression for the emacs package in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 5 products from gnu, from redhat, from redhat and 2 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2023-05-17T22:15:10.997

Last Modified

2025-01-22T19:15:09.470

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)

Weaknesses

Type: Secondary
CWE-77
Type: Primary
CWE-77

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	gnu	emacs	26.1-9.el8	Yes
Application	gnu	emacs	27.2-8.el9	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	9.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_eus	8.8	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_eus	9.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_aus	8.8	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_aus	9.2	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_tus	8.8	Yes

References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:2626 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:3104 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-2491 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2192873 Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:2626 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:3104 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-2491 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2192873 Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For gnu's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.