CVE-2023-35962: Critical OS Command Injection Vulnerability in GTKWave 3.3.115

Overview

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures system has recently identified a significant vulnerability, CVE-2023-35962, in the decompression functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. This software is widely used for viewing waveform data, and the identified vulnerability places numerous systems at risk, potentially leading to serious security breaches. The vulnerability is critical due to its potential to allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on a victim’s system, leading to system compromise or data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2023-35962
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS)
Attack Vector: File
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary command execution, potential system compromise, and data leakage.

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

GTKWave | 3.3.115

How the Exploit Works

The exploit targets a vulnerability existing within the decompression functionality of the GTKWave application. Specifically, the vcd2vzt utility. By crafting a malicious wave file, an attacker can trigger the OS command injection vulnerabilities in the system. The victim, in turn, would need to open this malicious file, which would then lead to the arbitrary execution of commands. This arbitrary command execution could potentially compromise the victim’s system or lead to data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

A simple conceptual example of exploiting this vulnerability might involve creating a malicious wave file with embedded command injection, as shown in the pseudocode below:

# Create a malicious wave file
echo 'malicious_command' > evil.wave
# Use the wave file to exploit the vulnerability
GTKWave -f evil.wave

In the example above, ‘malicious_command’ represents the arbitrary command that the attacker wishes to execute on the victim’s system. When the victim opens the ‘evil.wave’ file using GTKWave, the embedded command is executed, leading to a potential system compromise or data leakage.

Mitigation

Users of GTKWave 3.3.115 are advised to apply the vendor patch for the software as soon as it becomes available. In the interim, use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation for the vulnerability. These tools can help to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability, providing some level of protection until the vendor patch can be applied.