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SpaceclaimApplication · Ansys

CVE-2022-40638

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-15
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
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of X_B files. The issue results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-17102.

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 remote code execution vulnerability exists in Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1's X_B file parser. The flaw stems from the lack of validating object existence before performing operations on it during file parsing, allowing arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious X_B file.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Ansys when available. Until then, enforce user awareness to avoid opening untrusted X_B files and consider application sandboxing or file isolation for untrusted documents.

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
SpaceclaimApplication
Affected:= 2022

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. Verify if Ansys SpaceClaim is installed
    Check the system for Ansys SpaceClaim installation: Look in Program Files for 'Ansys SpaceClaim' folder, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for SpaceClaim entries, or use 'Get-ItemProperty' PowerShell command querying registry for 'SpaceClaim'
    Affected if Ansys SpaceClaim is present on the system
  2. Identify installed SpaceClaim version
    Run 'Get-ItemProperty' on the SpaceClaim installation directory or check the version in the application's executable properties. Typically found in 'C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\SpaceClaim\Bin\SpaceClaim.exe' - right-click and select Properties > Details to view File Version
    Affected if Version shows 2022 R1 (exact version match to the affected release)
  3. Confirm X_B file handling is accessible
    X_B files are native Ansys geometry format files. Verify the application can process these by checking file association handlers for .x_b extension in Windows: go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Choose default apps by file type and look for .x_b, or attempt to locate sample X_B files on the system
    Affected if X_B file type is associated with SpaceClaim and the parser is functional
  4. Review recent file opening activity
    Check Windows Event Viewer under Security and Application logs for recent .x_b file open events, or review browser/download histories if files were downloaded from external sources. Also check recent documents in SpaceClaim if available
    Affected if Any X_B files have been opened from untrusted or unknown sources

You are affected if Ansys SpaceClaim 2022 R1 is installed and the X_B file parser can process files, particularly if untrusted X_B files have been opened.

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

Apply the vendor patch from Ansys when available. Until then, enforce user awareness to avoid opening untrusted X_B files and consider application sandboxing or file isolation for untrusted documents.

Fix this in Spaceclaim Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2022-40638 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