dbcve.org
AliasApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2023-25004

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-27
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 products is used to trigger integer overflow vulnerabilities. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities 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 maliciously crafted pskernel.dll file in Autodesk products triggers integer overflow vulnerabilities during DLL loading, which can be exploited to achieve code execution. The attack requires the victim to load the malicious DLL, suggesting a local attack vector.

MitigationApply vendor patches from Autodesk for affected products, and implement DLL loading controls to prevent untrusted pskernel.dll files from being loaded.

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 and version
    Open the application and go to Help > About, or check the installed program version through Windows Programs and Features, or look for version info in the program's install directory
    Affected if The product is one of the affected Autodesk products (Alias, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Advance Steel, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, or AutoCAD Map 3D)
  2. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Match your installed version number to the vulnerable ranges: Alias 2023 to <2023.1.1; AutoCAD and variants 2020 to <2020.1.6, 2021 to <2021.1.3, 2022 to <2022.1.3, or 2023 to <2023.1.1
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of these unpatched version ranges
  3. Locate the pskernel.dll file
    Search for pskernel.dll in the Autodesk application directory and in directories that may be in the DLL search path (current working directory, system directories, path directories)
    Affected if A pskernel.dll exists in a location writable by untrusted users or outside the official product installation directory
  4. Check DLL loading configuration
    Review system DLL search order settings and any application-specific DLL loading controls. On Windows, check for manifests and SafeDllSearchMode settings. Verify if the application loads DLLs from the current working directory
    Affected if The application can load pskernel.dll from untrusted directories such as the user's current working directory or a network location

You are affected if you have any of the listed Autodesk products installed with a version matching the unpatched version ranges and if a malicious pskernel.dll could be loaded from an untrusted location.

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 patches from Autodesk for affected products, and implement DLL loading controls to prevent untrusted pskernel.dll files from being loaded.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to version 2020.1.6 (for 2020 products), 2021.1.3 (for 2021 products), 2022.1.3 (for 2022 products), or 2023.1.1 (for 2023 products/Alias) depending on your current version line

  1. Identify the current installed version of the affected Autodesk product (Alias, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Advance Steel, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, or AutoCAD Map 3D)
  2. Determine which version year (2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023) the installation corresponds to
  3. For AutoCAD 2020.x versions: upgrade to version 2020.1.6 or later
  4. For AutoCAD 2021.x versions: upgrade to version 2021.1.3 or later
  5. For AutoCAD 2022.x versions: upgrade to version 2022.1.3 or later
  6. For AutoCAD 2023.x versions: upgrade to version 2023.1.1 or later
  7. For Alias 2023.x: upgrade to version 2023.1.1 or later
  8. Download the appropriate update from the official Autodesk website (www.autodesk.com) or use the Autodesk desktop app to check for updates
Caveat Review Autodesk release notes for the target version to check for any compatibility or workflow changes before upgrading

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25004 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-25004 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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