CVE-2023-38623

Vulnerability

An integer overflow vulnerability exists in the VZT facgeometry parsing functionality of GTKWave version 3.3.115. Specifically, when allocating the vindex_offset array in vzt_rd_init_smp, an integer overflow can occur, leading to a heap buffer overflow. This affects all GTKWave components that parse VZT files, including the GUI, vzt2vcd, and vztminer. [1]

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious .vzt file that triggers the integer overflow. The victim must open the file using GTKWave, for example by double-clicking on it if the file association is set. No authentication or special privileges are required beyond local access to the system. [1]

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running GTKWave. This can lead to full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. [1]

Mitigation

As of the publication date (2024-01-08), no official patch has been released by the vendor. Users are advised to avoid opening untrusted .vzt files and to monitor for updates from GTKWave. [1]