Loading vulnerability…
CVE-2023-51698 is a command injection vulnerability in Atril's handling of CBT comic-book documents, which are TAR archives. The issue is described as CBT --checkpoint-action injection in comics-document.c. A maliciously crafted CBT file can supply attacker-controlled content that is incorporated into execution of TAR in an unsafe manner, allowing command injection when the victim opens the document. The vulnerability affects Atril prior to the fix released in version 1.6.2; the referenced patch is commit ce41df6. The provided context also notes that later research identified the same defect class in a different Atril code path (shell/ev-application.c), but that is distinct from CVE-2023-51698 itself.
Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
ce41df6 where relevant. If Atril is vendor-packaged, deploy the corresponding distribution security update rather than relying on source-level patch references alone.1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository provides a fully functional exploit for CVE-2023-44452 and CVE-2023-51698, targeting a command injection vulnerability in the CBT file parsing logic of Atril and Xreader document viewers on various Linux distributions (notably those using MATE, Cinnamon, and some XFCE environments). The exploit consists of a Bash script ('exploit.sh') that generates a malicious CBT (comic book archive) file containing a payload that, when opened or previewed by a vulnerable document viewer, executes a reverse shell connecting back to the attacker's machine. The script also sets up a local web server (on port 8888) to serve the malicious file and provides a ready-to-use HTML page for social engineering delivery. The README.md provides detailed background, affected products, and exploitation scenarios. The exploit leverages the '--checkpoint-action' option in the tar command, which is improperly handled by the vulnerable software, allowing arbitrary command execution. The repository is operational and can be used to gain shell access to affected systems with minimal user interaction (in some cases, just previewing the file is sufficient).
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
3 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.