CVE-2020-27248
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA specially crafted document can cause the document parser to copy data from a particular record type into a static-sized buffer within an object that is smaller than the size used for the copy, which will cause a heap-based buffer overflow. In version/Instance 0x0003 and 0x0014, an attacker can entice the victim to open a document to trigger this vulnerability. This affects SoftMaker Software GmbH SoftMaker Office PlanMaker 2021 (Revision 1014).
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in SoftMaker Office PlanMaker 2021's document parser. When processing specially crafted documents, the parser copies data from a particular record type into a static-sized buffer that is smaller than the copy size, causing the overflow. This can be triggered by enticing a victim to open a malicious document file.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 1014CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 is installedCheck your system for the presence of SoftMaker Office PlanMaker 2021 application. This may be in your program files directory or via system inventory tools.Affected if The application is installed on the system
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Identify the installed version numberOpen PlanMaker 2021 and navigate to Help > About PlanMaker, or right-click the executable and view Properties > Details to find the version field.Affected if The version is reported as exactly 1014
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Confirm document handling is enabledVerify that PlanMaker 2021 is configured to open document files (.pmdx, .pmv, .xlsx variants it handles). Check file association settings and recent document handling preferences.Affected if Document file associations are active and the application can open files
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Check for recent document activityReview recent files opened in PlanMaker 2021, particularly any documents from untrusted or unknown sources.Affected if Unsolicited documents from untrusted sources have been opened recently
You are affected if SoftMaker PlanMaker 2021 version 1014 is installed and the application processes document files, particularly from untrusted sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-provided security patch for PlanMaker 2021. Until patched, exercise caution with documents from untrusted sources and disable automatic document opening in the application.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27248 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-27248 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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