dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2022-23947

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Gerber Viewer gerber and excellon DCodeNumber parsing functionality of KiCad EDA 6.0.1 and master commit de006fc010. A specially-crafted gerber or excellon file can lead to code execution. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the KiCad Gerber Viewer DCodeNumber parsing functionality. Specially-crafted Gerber or Excellon files with malformed DCode numbers can overflow a stack-allocated buffer during parsing, leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate KiCad to the latest version containing the security patch. Until patched, exercise extreme caution when opening Gerber or Excellon files from untrusted sources.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 35
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0
Kicad EdaApplication
Affected:= 6.0.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine if KiCad is installed
    Check for KiCad installation using your system's package manager or by searching for kicad executable (e.g., 'which kicad', 'dpkg -l | grep kicad', or 'rpm -qa | grep kicad')
    Affected if KiCad is not installed on the system - no action needed
  2. Identify the installed KiCad version
    Run 'kicad --version' or check via package manager: 'dpkg -l kicad' for Debian-based systems or 'rpm -q kicad' for RPM-based systems
    Affected if The installed version matches or falls within the affected ranges: KiCad 6.0.1, Fedora 35, Debian 9.0/10.0/11.0
  3. Check if Gerber Viewer component is accessible
    Launch KiCad and verify if the Gerber Viewer (gerbview) module is available, or check for gerbview executable on the system
    Affected if The Gerber Viewer module is present and can be used to open Gerber or Excellon files
  4. Confirm usage of the affected parsing functionality
    Attempt to open or inspect any Gerber (.gbr, .gtl, .gbs, etc.) or Excellon (.drl, .nc) files using the Gerber Viewer, as the vulnerability triggers during DCodeNumber parsing of these file types
    Affected if The user can parse Gerber or Excellon files through the KiCad Gerber Viewer - the vulnerable code path is exercised when these files are opened

A user is affected if they are running an unpatched KiCad installation version 6.0.1 (or the affected Fedora/Debian packages) and use the Gerber Viewer to open Gerber or Excellon files, as the buffer overflow occurs during DCodeNumber parsing of these file formats.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update KiCad to the latest version containing the security patch. Until patched, exercise extreme caution when opening Gerber or Excellon files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

KiCad 6.0.2 or later

  1. Verify current KiCad version by opening the application and checking Help > About, or run `kicad --version`
  2. Backup any existing KiCad projects and libraries as a precautionary measure
  3. Update package repository: On Fedora run `sudo dnf check-update` then `sudo dnf update kicad`, or on Debian/Ubuntu run `sudo apt update` then `sudo apt install --upgrade kicad`
  4. Alternatively, download KiCad 6.0.2 or later from the official KiCad website: https://www.kicad.org/download/
  5. Install the updated package or installer
  6. Restart KiCad and verify the version shows 6.0.2 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2022-23947 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data