Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2020-37066

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
GoldWave 5.70 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting malicious input in the File Open URL dialog. Attackers can generate a specially crafted text file with Unicode-encoded shellcode to trigger a stack-based overflow and execute commands when the file is opened.

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 confidence

GoldWave 5.70 contains a stack-based buffer overflow in the File Open URL dialog. Attackers can craft a malicious text file containing Unicode-encoded shellcode that triggers the overflow when opened via the URL dialog, allowing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of GoldWave if available; otherwise, refrain from opening untrusted files through the File Open URL dialog until a fix is released.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify GoldWave installation
    Check if GoldWave audio editing software is installed on the system. Look for the application in standard install locations such as C:\Program Files\GoldWave or C:\Program Files (x86)\GoldWave, or search for goldwave.exe using the file system.
    Affected if GoldWave is found installed on the system
  2. Confirm installed version
    Locate and examine the goldwave.exe file properties, or launch GoldWave and check Help > About, to determine the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is GoldWave 5.70
  3. Verify File Open URL dialog exists
    Launch GoldWave and navigate to File > Open URL (or File > URL) to confirm this menu option exists and is accessible in the application's interface.
    Affected if The File Open URL dialog feature is present and available in version 5.70
  4. Review recently opened URL-based files
    Check GoldWave's recent files list or examine the application logs for any opened files that were accessed via the URL dialog, particularly unfamiliar or untrusted text files.
    Affected if Untrusted or malicious text files were recently opened through the File Open URL dialog

A system is affected if GoldWave version 5.70 is installed and the File Open URL dialog feature was used to open untrusted files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to a patched version of GoldWave if available; otherwise, refrain from opening untrusted files through the File Open URL dialog until a fix is released.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-37066 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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