CVE-2023-34302
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 · uneditedAshlar-Vellum Cobalt CO File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of CO files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-17865.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt's CO file parser. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying into a fixed-size stack buffer during CO file parsing, enabling arbitrary code execution in the current process context.
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< 12.4.1204.200CVSS 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 Ashlar Cobalt versionOpen Ashlar Cobalt, then go to Help > About or Help > About Ashlar Cobalt to view the exact version number displayed in the dialog boxAffected if The version shown is lower than 12.4.1204.200 (for example, 12.4.1000.150 or any 12.x version below 12.4.1204.200)
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Locate the executable version via file propertiesRight-click the Ashlar Cobalt executable file (commonly named cobalt.exe) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Version tab to see the Product Version fieldAffected if The Product Version field shows a version lower than 12.4.1204.200
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Confirm CO file format handling is in useCheck if you or your users have opened, imported, or recently worked with .CO files (CO format plot or drawing files) in Ashlar CobaltAffected if CO files are being opened or processed in the software
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Review recent CO file accessExamine the application's recent files list or file open dialog history for any .CO files that may have been opened, especially from untrusted or unknown sourcesAffected if Recent or current work involves CO files from sources that cannot be verified as trusted
You are affected if your installed Ashlar Cobalt version is lower than 12.4.1204.200 and you open or process CO files, since the buffer overflow occurs during CO file parsing.
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 data12.4.1204.200
Avoid opening untrusted or unverified CO files from unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-34302 — 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-2023-34302 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
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