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AliasApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2023-25003

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2020.1.6 / 2021.1.3 or later.
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 maliciously crafted pskernel.dll file in Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and Maya 2022 may be used to trigger out-of-bound read write / read vulnerabilities. Exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to code execution.

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 · moderate confidence

A vulnerability in pskernel.dll in Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and Maya 2022 allows specially crafted malicious DLL files to trigger out-of-bounds read/write or read operations. Exploitation may lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the vulnerable application.

MitigationApply vendor-provided security patches for AutoCAD 2023 and Maya 2022. Restrict file system permissions on pskernel.dll and validate DLL loading paths until patches are deployed.

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
AliasApplication
Affected:>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
AutocadApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad Advance SteelApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad ArchitectureApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad Civil 3dApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad ElectricalApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad LtApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1
Autocad Map 3dApplication
Affected:>= 2020, < 2020.1.6>= 2021, < 2021.1.3>= 2022, < 2022.1.3>= 2023, < 2023.1.1

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. Identify installed Autodesk product
    Open the application and go to Help > About Autodesk [Product], or check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features. Look for AutoCAD, AutoCAD-based products (Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, LT, Map 3D, Advance Steel), Alias, or Maya.
    Affected if Any of the following products are installed: AutoCAD 2020-2023, AutoCAD-based verticals (Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, LT, Map 3D, Advance Steel), Alias 2023, or Maya 2022.
  2. Determine installed product version
    In the application, type the command 'VER' or 'ABOUT' in the command line and press Enter. Alternatively, right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties > Digital Versions tab, or check the program's uninstall entry in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
    Affected if The version falls within any of these affected ranges: AutoCAD/AutoCAD verticals 2020 < 2020.1.6, 2021 < 2021.1.3, 2022 < 2022.1.3, or 2023 < 2023.1.1; Alias 2023 < 2023.1.1.
  3. Locate pskernel.dll
    Search for pskernel.dll in the product installation directory. Default paths typically include: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\[Product Name]\[Version]\, C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2022\, or C:\Program Files\Alias\Alias2023\. Use Windows Explorer search or PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Program Files\Autodesk" -Recurse -Filter pskernel.dll
    Affected if pskernel.dll exists in the Autodesk product installation folder.
  4. Confirm vulnerability exposure
    Cross-reference the installed product version from step 2 against the affected version ranges. The vulnerability requires the product to load a malicious DLL file, so verify if the application loads DLLs from untrusted paths.
    Affected if The installed product version is within the affected ranges AND pskernel.dll is present, making the DLL search path loading mechanism exploitable.

You are affected if you have AutoCAD 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 (or any AutoCAD-based vertical), Alias 2023, or Maya 2022 installed with a version lower than the fixed releases (2020.1.6, 2021.1.3, 2022.1.3, 2023.1.1) and pskernel.dll exists in the product directory.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2020.1.6 / 2021.1.3 / 2022.1.3 or later
Fixed in 2020.1.62021.1.32022.1.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided security patches for AutoCAD 2023 and Maya 2022. Restrict file system permissions on pskernel.dll and validate DLL loading paths until patches are deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Alias 2023.1.1+ | AutoCAD 2020.1.6+ | AutoCAD 2021.1.3+ | AutoCAD 2022.1.3+ | AutoCAD 2023.1.1+ (and corresponding vertical product versions)

  1. Identify the specific Autodesk product and version currently installed (Alias, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Advance Steel, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, or AutoCAD Map 3D)
  2. For Alias 2023: upgrade to version 2023.1.1 or later
  3. For AutoCAD 2020: upgrade to version 2020.1.6 or later
  4. For AutoCAD 2021: upgrade to version 2021.1.3 or later
  5. For AutoCAD 2022: upgrade to version 2022.1.3 or later
  6. For AutoCAD 2023: upgrade to version 2023.1.1 or later
  7. Apply the same version upgrades to respective vertical products (Advance Steel, Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, LT, Map 3D)
  8. Verify the installed version after upgrade to confirm the patch was applied
Caveat Standard Autodesk update considerations - review release notes for your specific product for any workflow changes or deprecated features in the new version

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

Fix this in Alias Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2023-25003 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