CVE-2023-21618
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 · uneditedAdobe Substance 3D Designer version 12.4.1 (and earlier) is affected by an Access of Uninitialized Pointer vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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 confidenceAdobe Substance 3D Designer versions 12.4.1 and earlier contain an Access of Uninitialized Pointer vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted file. This memory corruption issue can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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<= 12.4.1CVSS 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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Find installed Adobe Substance 3D Designer versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Adobe Substance 3D Designer in the list, and note the version shown in the Version column. Alternatively, right-click the application executable (typically in Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Substance 3D Designer) and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.Affected if The displayed version is 12.4.1 or any version lower (for example, 12.4.0, 12.3.x, etc.)
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Verify the application executable exists and is functionalConfirm the Adobe Substance 3D Designer executable is present on the system. The primary executable is typically named Substance 3D Designer.exe and resides in the application installation directory.Affected if The application is installed and the version from Step 1 is within the affected range (<=12.4.1)
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Confirm .sap file handling capabilityVerify that the application is configured to handle or can open .sap files, which is the native file format for Adobe Substance 3D Designer. This can be confirmed by checking file associations or simply by noting that the application is used for design work.Affected if The application can open .sap files and the version from Step 1 is within the affected range (this is the trigger condition for the vulnerability)
A user is affected if Adobe Substance 3D Designer version 12.4.1 or earlier is installed and the application can open .sap files, since the vulnerability is triggered when opening a maliciously crafted file.
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 dataUpdate Adobe Substance 3D Designer to a version newer than 12.4.1. Until patched, advise users not to open untrusted .sap files or other design documents from unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21618 — 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-2023-21618 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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