{"id":36225,"date":"2025-05-08T06:41:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T06:41:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-03T18:45:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T00:45:22","slug":"cve-2023-36915-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-36915-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2023-36915: Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability in GTKWave 3.3.115<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A significant vulnerability, CVE-2023-36915, has been identified in the popular waveform viewer GTKWave version 3.3.115. This application is extensively used in the electronics industry for viewing and debugging digital logic simulations, making it a prime target for cyber attackers. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-1290-high-severity-race-condition-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-kernel-5-4-on-chromeos\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41771\">vulnerability is of a high severity<\/a> level, underlining the importance of immediate attention and mitigation.<br \/>\nThe risk lies in multiple integer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3785-critical-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-d-link-dwr-m961\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41007\">overflow vulnerabilities<\/a> that exist in the FST fstReaderIterBlocks2 chain_table allocation functionality of GTKWave. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-40367-critical-vulnerability-in-syngo-fastview-allows-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40950\">potentially leading to system<\/a> compromise or data leakage. The affected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43922-unprivileged-local-user-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-filewave-windows-client\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41423\">users need to be aware of this vulnerability<\/a> and take immediate steps to mitigate the potential risks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2023-36915<br \/>\nSeverity: High (CVSS: 7.8)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Low<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-34322-inadequate-precaution-in-xen-s-shadow-paging-leads-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40976\">Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1592456553\" 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 vulnerability arises from multiple integer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-34325-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-libfsimage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41025\">overflow<\/a> vulnerabilities in the GTKWave&#8217;s FST fstReaderIterBlocks2 chain_table allocation functionality. An attacker can craft a malicious .fst file that, when opened by an unsuspecting user, causes an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35004-critical-integer-overflow-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41058\">integer overflow<\/a>. This overflow can lead to an oversized allocation for the `chain_table` array, potentially causing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35702-stack-based-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41073\">buffer overflow<\/a>. The attacker can then exploit this overflow to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-21821-arbitrary-os-command-execution-vulnerability-in-multiple-tp-link-products\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41101\">execute arbitrary<\/a> code of their choice, thus compromising the system or leading to data leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-975973495\" 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>In a conceptual scenario, an attacker might <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24189-memory-corruption-vulnerability-due-to-maliciously-crafted-web-content-in-various-operating-systems\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78434\">craft a malicious<\/a> .fst file with the following pseudocode:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">int main() {\nint size = INT_MAX;\nchain_table = malloc(size);\nif(chain_table == NULL) {\nprintf(&quot;Failed to allocate chain_table\\n&quot;);\nexit(1);\n}\n\/\/ The attacker would then populate the `chain_table` array with malicious code.\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Upon opening this malicious .fst file, the `chain_table` <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-29366-array-overflow-vulnerability-in-mupen64plus-v2-6-0\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78432\">array would overflow<\/a>. If the attacker has appropriately crafted the overflow, they could execute arbitrary code, leading to system compromise or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-50612-escalation-of-privileges-and-data-leakage-in-fit2cloud-cloud-explorer-lite\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41267\">data leakage<\/a>.<br \/>\nTo mitigate this vulnerability, users of GTKWave 3.3.115 should apply the vendor patch immediately. If a patch is not yet available, <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=\"78433\">users can use a Web<\/a> Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview A significant vulnerability, CVE-2023-36915, has been identified in the popular waveform viewer GTKWave version 3.3.115. This application is extensively used in the electronics industry for viewing and debugging digital logic simulations, making it a prime target for cyber attackers. The vulnerability is of a high severity level, underlining the importance of immediate attention and [&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-36225","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\/36225","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=36225"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70811,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36225\/revisions\/70811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=36225"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=36225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}