{"id":36911,"date":"2025-05-10T17:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T17:05:10","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-08-08T06:29:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T12:29:32","slug":"cve-2023-37576-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-37576-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2023-37576: Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability in GTKWave<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The CVE-2023-37576 is an alarming vulnerability that exists within the GTKWave 3.3.115, specifically in its VCD get_vartoken realloc functionality. This vulnerability is predominantly characterized by multiple use-after-free vulnerabilities that can be exploited through a specially crafted .vcd file. The exploitation could potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35995-gtkwave-array-index-validation-vulnerability-leading-to-arbitrary-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42002\">lead to arbitrary code<\/a> execution. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35703-stack-based-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41722\">vulnerability primarily affects users of the GTKWave<\/a> software and matters significantly due to its capacity to compromise the system or lead to data leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2023-37576<br \/>\nSeverity: High &#8211; CVSS: 7.8<br \/>\nAttack Vector: File-based<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required (opening a malicious file)<br \/>\nImpact: <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=\"42283\">Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3538584148\" 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: 720px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center; letter-spacing: -0.02em;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 10px;\">\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: 42px; height: 42px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    Share secrets securely\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 14px; color: #d1d5db;\">\r\n    Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 18px; color: #a1a1aa;\">\r\n    Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #e4e4e7;\">\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Private Spaces for organizations and teams<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes<\/li>\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u2022 Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Built for information that cannot leak<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px; color: #ffffff;\">\r\n    Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.\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: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Download Ameeba\r\n    <\/a>\r\n\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 8px; font-weight: 500;\">\r\n      Learn More\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/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 exploit leverages a series of <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=\"41765\">use-after-free vulnerabilities<\/a> present in the VCD get_vartoken realloc functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. A threat actor can <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=\"60727\">craft a malicious<\/a> .vcd file that, when opened by the victim, triggers these vulnerabilities. The exploitation of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32444-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-vllm-integration-with-mooncake\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"41857\">vulnerabilities can potentially lead to arbitrary code execution<\/a>, which in turn could result in a total system compromise or leakage of sensitive data.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1467936648\" 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 actual exploit code would be specific to the .vcd file format and would require detailed knowledge of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-38622-integer-overflow-vulnerabilities-in-gtkwave-vzt-facgeometry-parsing-functionality\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43247\">GTKWave&#8217;s VCD parsing<\/a> implementation. However, the general concept of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47154-exploitation-of-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-libjs-in-ladybird\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42366\">use-after-free exploit<\/a> can be illustrated as follows:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\">char *ptr = malloc(10);\nfree(ptr);\n\/\/ Time passes and the program continues execution\n\/\/ The attacker manages to use &#039;ptr&#039; after it has been freed\nstrcpy(ptr, &quot;Exploit&quot;);<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this simplified example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-46713-buffer-overflow-vulnerability-in-sandboxie-s-memory-allocation-subsystem\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"68582\">memory space is allocated<\/a> (using &#8216;malloc&#8217;) and then freed (using &#8216;free&#8217;). However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-49131-uninitialized-pointer-access-vulnerability-in-solid-edge-se2023\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"43489\">pointer to that memory space is still accessible<\/a> later in the program. If an attacker can manipulate the program&#8217;s execution to reach this point, they could potentially insert malicious code or data at the location pointed to by &#8216;ptr&#8217;, leading to unexpected behavior or even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35996-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave-3-3-115\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42038\">arbitrary code execution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation and Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The most effective mitigation for this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-32378-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-macos-systems-allowing-kernel-privilege-escalation\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48201\">vulnerability is to apply the vendor-supplied patch which fixes the use-after-free<\/a> vulnerabilities in GTKWave&#8217;s VCD parsing code. If a patch cannot be applied immediately, temporary mitigation can be achieved by using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to block or detect attempted exploits.<br \/>\nIn addition to these specific measures, it is always good practice to be cautious when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2021-41691-sql-injection-vulnerability-in-os4ed-open-source-information-system-community\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"64189\">opening files from unknown or untrusted sources<\/a>. It is especially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-4954-critical-file-upload-vulnerability-in-axle-demo-importer-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"60726\">important to be wary of .vcd files<\/a>, as these are the vector through which the CVE-2023-37576 vulnerability is exploited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The CVE-2023-37576 is an alarming vulnerability that exists within the GTKWave 3.3.115, specifically in its VCD get_vartoken realloc functionality. This vulnerability is predominantly characterized by multiple use-after-free vulnerabilities that can be exploited through a specially crafted .vcd file. The exploitation could potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability primarily affects users of the [&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":[80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-36911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36911","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=36911"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61929,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36911\/revisions\/61929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=36911"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=36911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}