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AliasApplication · Autodesk

CVE-2023-29068

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 file consumed through pskernel.dll file could lead to memory corruption vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities in conjunction with other vulnerabilities could lead to code execution 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 confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in pskernel.dll when parsing maliciously crafted files. The vulnerability can be chained with other flaws to achieve code execution within the current process context.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches for pskernel.dll and avoid opening untrusted files until the patch is 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 Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName' to list installed software. Look for Autodesk Alias, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Advance Steel, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD LT, or AutoCAD Map 3D.
    Affected if Any of these products are installed and their version falls within the affected ranges listed in the CVE.
  2. Check product version
    In Windows, right-click the desktop shortcut for the Autodesk product, select Properties, and view the version in the target field (e.g., acadexe.exe /version). Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Autodesk [Product], or run the product executable with a version flag.
    Affected if The installed version is: Alias >= 2023 and < 2023.1.1; AutoCAD 2020-2023 versions before 2020.1.6, 2021.1.3, 2022.1.3, or 2023.1.1 respectively; or any vertical (Advance Steel, Architecture, Civil 3D, Electrical, LT, Map 3D) with matching version ranges.
  3. Locate pskernel.dll
    Search for pskernel.dll in the product installation directory. Default paths are typically C:\Program Files\Autodesk\[ProductName]\[Version]\ or C:\Program Files\Autodesk\[ProductName] 202X\. Use 'Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Program Files\Autodesk" -Recurse -Filter pskernel.dll' to locate it.
    Affected if pskernel.dll exists in the Autodesk installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present.
  4. Verify DLL version against patch
    Right-click pskernel.dll, select Properties, then Details tab to view File Version. Compare this against the fixed versions in the vendor advisory.
    Affected if The pskernel.dll version is lower than the patched version, or the file has not been updated after the vendor patch release date.

You are affected if any of the listed Autodesk products are installed with versions that fall within the unpatched ranges and pskernel.dll is present in the installation 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 patches for pskernel.dll and avoid opening untrusted files until the patch is deployed.

Recommended fix High confidence

AutoCAD 2020: 2020.1.6+ | AutoCAD 2021: 2021.1.3+ | AutoCAD 2022: 2022.1.3+ | AutoCAD/Alias 2023: 2023.1.1+

  1. Identify the installed version of the affected Autodesk product (Alias, AutoCAD, or one of its variants)
  2. For AutoCAD 2020: Upgrade to version 2020.1.6 or later
  3. For AutoCAD 2021: Upgrade to version 2021.1.3 or later
  4. For AutoCAD 2022: Upgrade to version 2022.1.3 or later
  5. For AutoCAD 2023 or Alias 2023: Upgrade to version 2023.1.1 or later
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the updated version number
  7. Do not open untrusted DWG or other design files until the patch is applied
Caveat Review Autodesk's release notes for your product version for any compatibility notes or known issues 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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-29068 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