{"id":35424,"date":"2025-05-06T08:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T08:21:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-07-05T23:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T05:19:32","slug":"cve-2023-35969-critical-heap-based-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35969-critical-heap-based-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2023-35969: Critical Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in GTKWave 3.3.115<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The open-source software GTKWave 3.3.115 has been found to have critical vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to gain unauthorized access and execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-35969, affects the fstReaderIterBlocks2 chain_table parsing functionality and can lead to potential system compromise or data leakage. The risk is significant for all users of GTKWave 3.3.115, as the successful exploitation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-22636-cross-site-scripting-vulnerability-in-vr-frases-leads-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40207\">vulnerability can lead<\/a> to malicious activity, including system compromise, information theft, or even full control of the system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2023-35969<br \/>\nSeverity: High (CVSS: 7.8)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Network<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3914-potential-arbitrary-file-uploads-and-system-compromise-in-aeropage-sync-for-airtable-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40609\">System compromise<\/a>, data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2190663606\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>GTKWave |  3.3.115<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-45465-critical-bmp-parsing-vulnerability-in-syngo-fastview\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41245\">vulnerability resides in the chain_table parsing<\/a> functionality (FST_BL_VCDATA and FST_BL_VCDATA_DYN_ALIAS section types) of GTKWave. The software fails to properly handle a specially crafted .fst file, leading to a heap-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3786-critical-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-tenda-ac15\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40282\">buffer overflow<\/a>. This occurs when data is written to a buffer, surpassing its boundary and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-33118-critical-memory-corruption-vulnerability-in-listen-sound-model-client-payload\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41233\">corrupting data in adjacent memory<\/a> locations. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user to open a malicious .fst file, which can lead to arbitrary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43946-critical-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-tcpwave-ddi\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40333\">code execution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2012250701\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-23394-critical-unix-symbolic-link-following-vulnerability-in-opensuse-tumbleweed-cyrus-imapd\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"54407\">following is a simplified conceptual representation of how the vulnerability<\/a> might be exploited. It demonstrates a malicious .fst file being opened:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># On the target machine:\n$ gtkwave malicious.fst<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>This example represents a scenario where an attacker has delivered a malicious .fst file (malicious.fst) to the target machine. When a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-46827-graylog-open-log-management-platform-user-session-cookie-exposure\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"54408\">user opens<\/a> the file using GTKWave, the exploit triggers.<br \/>\nPlease note that the actual exploitation of this vulnerability would likely involve a far more complex and carefully designed .fst file, specifically crafted to trigger the buffer overflow and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-13808-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-xpro-elementor-addons-pro-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40362\">execute arbitrary code<\/a> on the target system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Solution and Mitigations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. Before the patch, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5485-a-critical-vulnerability-pertaining-to-user-name-enumeration-in-web-management-interfaces\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64198\">users can put a Web<\/a> Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) into place as a temporary mitigation. These systems can help detect and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-49155-uncontrolled-search-path-vulnerability-in-trend-micro-apex-one-data-loss-prevention-module\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64197\">prevent any attempts to exploit the vulnerability<\/a>. Additionally, users should be cautious of untrusted .fst files and refrain from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-41691-sql-injection-vulnerability-in-os4ed-open-source-information-system-community\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64196\">opening any such files from unknown sources<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The open-source software GTKWave 3.3.115 has been found to have critical vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to gain unauthorized access and execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-35969, affects the fstReaderIterBlocks2 chain_table parsing functionality and can lead to potential system compromise or data leakage. The risk is significant for all users of GTKWave [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[86,80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-35424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-buffer-overflow","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35424"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57713,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35424\/revisions\/57713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=35424"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=35424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}