CVE-2023-27916
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 · uneditedThe affected application lacks proper validation of user-supplied data when parsing font files (e.g., FNT). This could lead to an out-of-bounds read. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to potentially execute arbitrary code 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 · moderate confidenceThe affected application fails to properly validate user-supplied data when parsing FNT font files, leading to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. An attacker can exploit this by supplying a specially crafted font file, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.
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= 9.90= 4.70CVSS 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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Identify installed Cscape versionOpen the application and navigate to Help > About, or check the program's file properties (right-click the executable > Properties > Details) to locate the version numberAffected if The version is exactly 9.90 for Cscape or 4.70 for Cscape Envisionrv
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Locate project files that may reference fontsSearch the application project directory for .csp or .csz project files and open them in a text editor to look for FNT or font-related entriesAffected if The project loads or references FNT font files
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Check for FNT font file parsing capabilityReview the application's import or font loading features - look for options to import FNT font files in the file menu or project settingsAffected if FNT font import/parsing is available or has been used in a project
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Examine recent font file importsReview the project folder for any .fnt files that may have been imported into the applicationAffected if FNT font files exist in project folders or have been recently imported
You are affected if you have Cscape version 9.90 or Cscape Envisionrv version 4.70 and your project loads or parses FNT font files.
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 dataImplement proper bounds checking and input validation on all font file parsing routines, particularly when handling FNT font files. Apply any available vendor patches for the affected application.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-27916 — 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-2023-27916 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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