{"id":36858,"date":"2025-05-10T10:02:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T10:02:25","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-13T18:17:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:17:59","slug":"cve-2023-37447-critical-out-of-bounds-read-vulnerabilities-in-gtkwave-3-3-115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37447-critical-out-of-bounds-read-vulnerabilities-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2023-37447: Critical Out-of-Bounds Read Vulnerabilities in GTKWave 3.3.115<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, with new vulnerabilities emerging that pose significant risks to systems and data. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-37447, affects GTKWave 3.3.115, a popular open-source waveform viewer. This vulnerability is critical<\/a>, with a CVSS severity score of 7.8, and could potentially lead to system compromise and data leakage.
\nThe vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the VCD var definition section of GTKWave<\/a>. It can be triggered by a specially crafted .vcd file, leading to arbitrary code execution<\/a>. This poses a significant threat to any individual or organization using GTKWave, as the successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to severe<\/a> consequences.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2023-37447
\nSeverity: Critical (CVSS Score: 7.8)
\nAttack Vector: File-based (specially crafted .vcd file)
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: Required (the victim needs to open the malicious file)
\nImpact: Potential system<\/a> compromise and data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

GTKWave | 3.3.115<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exploit takes advantage of the out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities that exist in the VCD var definition section functionality of GTKWave<\/a>. An attacker can create a specially crafted .vcd file that, when opened, triggers these vulnerabilities, leading to out-of-bounds write<\/a>. This, in turn, allows for arbitrary code execution<\/a>, effectively compromising the system and potentially leading to data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited<\/a>. This pseudocode represents the structure of a malicious .vcd file:<\/p>\n

$timescale 1ns $end\n$scope module top $end\n$var wire 1 ! clk $end\n$var wire 64 # data $end\n$var wire 1 $ enable $end\n$upscope $end\n$enddefinitions $end\n#0\n0!\n1#\nx$\n$malicious_code_here<\/code><\/pre>\n
In the example above, `$malicious_code_here` represents the place where an attacker would insert malicious code to exploit the vulnerability<\/a>. It’s important to note that this is a conceptual example and should not be used for malicious purposes.<\/p>\n
Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n
To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it is available. In the meantime, the use of a web application firewall (WAF) or intrusion detection system (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation, providing some layer of protection against potential exploits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, with new vulnerabilities emerging that pose significant risks to systems and data. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-37447, affects GTKWave 3.3.115, a popular open-source waveform viewer. This vulnerability is critical, with a CVSS severity score of 7.8, and could potentially lead to system compromise and data leakage. The […]<\/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,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[86,80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-36858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-buffer-overflow","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t