dbcve.org
AutocadApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2022-33881

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-29
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
Parsing a maliciously crafted PRT file can force Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 to read beyond allocated boundaries. This vulnerability in conjunction with other vulnerabilities could lead to code execution in the context of the current process.

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

AutoCAD 2023 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its PRT file parser. When parsing a maliciously crafted PRT file, the application reads beyond allocated memory boundaries. This memory corruption issue, when combined with other vulnerabilities, can be leveraged for code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening PRT files from untrusted sources and apply available security updates from Autodesk for AutoCAD 2023.

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
AutocadApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad Advance SteelApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad ArchitectureApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad Civil 3dApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad ElectricalApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad LtApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad Map 3dApplication
Affected:= 2023
Autocad MechanicalApplication
Affected:= 2023

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. Identify the installed AutoCAD product and version
    Open AutoCAD and go to Help > About AutoCAD, or run the command 'VER' in the command line to display the version information. Alternatively, check the Windows Programs and Features list (appwiz.cpl) for the installed AutoCAD variant and its exact version number.
    Affected if The installed product is one of AutoCAD 2023, AutoCAD Advance Steel 2023, AutoCAD Architecture 2023, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2023, AutoCAD Electrical 2023, AutoCAD LT 2023, AutoCAD Map 3D 2023, or AutoCAD Mechanical 2023.
  2. Verify the PRT file parser component is present
    Check for the existence of the PRT file parser module. In a default installation, look for the 'acplp.dll' or similar PRT-related DLLs in the AutoCAD program directory (typically C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2023\). Use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2023' -Filter '*prt*.dll'
    Affected if The PRT parser DLL exists in the AutoCAD 2023 installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present.
  3. Check for recent PRT file access
    Review recently opened or modified PRT files on the system. Check Windows Prefetch or application recent files. Use PowerShell to search for .prt files in user documents and recent locations: Get-ChildItem -Path $env:USERPROFILE -Recurse -Filter '*.prt' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object FullName, LastWriteTime
    Affected if PRT files have been opened or processed recently, indicating the vulnerable code path has been executed.
  4. Examine AutoCAD crash logs for PRT-related errors
    Check AutoCAD crash dump files and log files in the installation support folder (typically C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2023\R24.0\enu\crashlogs or errors). Look for entries mentioning 'PRT', 'out of bounds', or memory access violations.
    Affected if Crash logs or error reports show out-of-bounds read errors related to PRT file parsing, confirming the vulnerability has been triggered.

A user is affected if they have AutoCAD 2023 (or any of the listed variants) installed and have opened or processed PRT files from potentially untrusted sources.

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

Users should avoid opening PRT files from untrusted sources and apply available security updates from Autodesk for AutoCAD 2023.

Fix this in Autocad Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2022-33881 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data