{"id":36230,"date":"2025-05-08T11:43:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:43:48","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-06T12:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:12:35","slug":"cve-2023-37418-critical-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-s-vcd-parse-valuechange-portdump-functionality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37418-critical-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-s-vcd-parse-valuechange-portdump-functionality\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2023-37418: Critical Vulnerability in GTKWave&#8217;s VCD Parse_Valuechange Portdump Functionality<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cybersecurity landscape is a dynamic battleground in which vulnerabilities often go unnoticed until they are exploited by malicious entities. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-37418, resides in the VCD parse_valuechange portdump functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-40367-critical-vulnerability-in-syngo-fastview-allows-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"40932\">vulnerability presents a significant threat to any system<\/a> that utilizes this version of GTKWave, as its exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution, potentially compromising the system or leading to data leakage.<br \/>\nThe importance of understanding and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4335-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-woocommerce-multiple-addresses-plugin-for-wordpress\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43737\">addressing this vulnerability<\/a> cannot be overstated. Its impact extends beyond single <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-45949-phpgurukul-user-management-system-session-hijacking-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41148\">user systems<\/a> to larger networks, making it a potential target for cybercriminals aiming to penetrate network defenses and compromise sensitive data.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2023-37418<br \/>\nSeverity: High (7.8 CVSS Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local, Remote (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31246-kernel-memory-corruption-in-macos-via-malicious-afp-server\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47779\">via malicious<\/a> .vcd file)<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required (victim needs to open a malicious file)<br \/>\nImpact: Potential system compromise, <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=\"41266\">data leakage<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-366288996\" 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 exploitation of this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37416-critical-out-of-bounds-write-vulnerabilities-in-gtkwave\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42581\">vulnerability hinges on the out-of-bounds write<\/a> vulnerabilities present in the VCD parse_valuechange portdump functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. An attacker crafts a malicious .vcd file, which, when opened by the victim using the vcd2vzt conversion utility, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52478-stored-cross-site-scripting-vulnerability-in-n8n-s-form-trigger-node\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"79446\">triggers these vulnerabilities<\/a>. As a result, the attacker can execute arbitrary code on the victim&#8217;s system, <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=\"40970\">potentially leading to system<\/a> compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-481802864\" 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>Consider the following pseudocode, which illustrates how a malicious .vcd <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-2558-critical-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability-in-the-wound-wordpress-theme\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41009\">file could be crafted to exploit the vulnerability<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># Pseudo code to create a malicious .vcd file\nvcd_file = create_vcd_file()\n# Inserting malicious code that triggers the out-of-bounds write vulnerability\nvcd_file.insert_code(&quot;malicious_code&quot;)\n# Save the malicious .vcd file\nvcd_file.save(&quot;malicious.vcd&quot;)<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Upon the victim opening this malicious .vcd file using the vcd2vzt conversion utility, the malicious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-20654-microsoft-odbc-driver-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-a-high-level-threat\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41333\">code is executed<\/a>, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-43922-unprivileged-local-user-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-filewave-windows-client\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41420\">Users affected by this vulnerability<\/a> are strongly advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the interim, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) may serve as a temporary mitigation measure, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32974-critical-vulnerability-in-xwiki-s-rights-analysis-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42263\">potentially preventing the exploitation of this vulnerability<\/a>. However, these are not foolproof solutions and should not be relied upon as permanent fixes. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/unmasking-the-2025-cybersecurity-special-report-a-comprehensive-analysis-of-the-rsm-incident\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"46445\">comprehensive cybersecurity<\/a> strategy, combined with regular system updates, is the most effective approach to protecting against such vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The cybersecurity landscape is a dynamic battleground in which vulnerabilities often go unnoticed until they are exploited by malicious entities. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-37418, resides in the VCD parse_valuechange portdump functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. This vulnerability presents a significant threat to any system that utilizes this version of GTKWave, as its exploitation [&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-36230","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\/36230","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=36230"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71879,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36230\/revisions\/71879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=36230"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=36230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}