CVE-2023-35716
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 AR File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read 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 AR files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-20417.
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 confidenceAshlar-Vellum Cobalt contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its AR file parser. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during AR file parsing allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer. This can be leveraged by an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process by tricking a user into opening a malicious AR file.
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= 12.0.1204.60CVSS 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:3.0/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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Locate Ashlar Cobalt installationCheck common installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Ashlar\Cobalt or C:\Program Files (x86)\Ashlar\Cobalt. On macOS, check /Applications/Ashlar Cobalt.appAffected if The application is installed on the system
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Identify installed versionRight-click the Cobalt executable or application, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, open the application and look in Help > About Cobalt for the exact version numberAffected if The version number matches exactly 12.0.1204.60
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Confirm AR file support is presentVerify that the installation includes AR file parsing capability by attempting to open or import an AR file through File > Open, or check if AR file type is listed in supported import formatsAffected if AR file functionality is available in the installation and the version is 12.0.1204.60
The system is affected only if Ashlar Cobalt version 12.0.1204.60 is installed and users can open AR files from the application.
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 dataUsers should avoid opening AR files from untrusted sources and only open files from trusted origins. The vendor should patch the AR file parser to add proper bounds checking before reading from buffers.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-35716 — 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-2023-35716 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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