Overview
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, and the latest vulnerability to emerge is CVE-2023-39443. This is a critical flaw that affects the LXT2 parsing functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. It’s a software that is widely used for viewing waveform data, notably in the electronics industry. Hence, this vulnerability could have far-reaching implications for firms that rely on this software. The vulnerability is rated as high severity with a CVSS score of 7.8, indicating a significant risk that warrants immediate attention.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2023-39443
Severity: High (7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise, and data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
GTKWave | 3.3.115
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability resides in the way GTKWave’s LXT2 parser handles certain input. Specifically, it contains multiple out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a specially-crafted .lxt2 file. When this file is opened, the vulnerabilities can lead to arbitrary code execution. This means that an attacker could run any command of their choosing on the victim’s system, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. The out-of-bounds write is performed by the prefix copy loop, introducing the potential for buffer overflow and memory corruption.
Conceptual Example Code
To illustrate the vulnerability, consider the following conceptual example. An attacker could craft a malicious .lxt2 file like so:
# Malicious .lxt2 file crafted to exploit the vulnerability
# Buffer overflow data is represented as '...'
header[0] = '...'
header[1] = '...'
header[2] = '...'
header[3] = '...'
# Crafted payload to execute arbitrary code
payload = '...'The victim then opens this file with GTKWave 3.3.115, triggering the exploit and executing the arbitrary code contained within the payload.
It’s important to note that this is a conceptual example and does not contain actual exploit code. The attacker would need to craft a file that exploits the specific vulnerabilities in the LXT2 parser and contains a valid payload.