CVE-2023-40486
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 · uneditedMaxon Cinema 4D SKP File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Maxon Cinema 4D. 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 SKP files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-21434.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow exists in Maxon Cinema 4D's SKP file parser. The parser fails to validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it into a fixed-size stack buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite return addresses and other stack frames to achieve arbitrary code execution by convincing a user to open a malicious SKP 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= 2023.2.1CVSS 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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Verify Cinema 4D is installedCheck for Cinema 4D installation directory (typically at C:\Program Files\Maxon Cinema 4D or /Applications/Maxon Cinema 4D on macOS) or look for the application in installed programs listAffected if Cinema 4D software is present on the system
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Determine installed Cinema 4D versionLocate the version information - in Windows, check the executable properties (right-click on Cinema 4D.exe > Properties > Details) or look in the installation folder for version.txt or a similar version fileAffected if Installed version matches exactly 2023.2.1
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Confirm SKP file import capability existsAttempt to open or import an SKP file within Cinema 4D, or verify the SKP file format plugin/importer is present in the application plugins directoryAffected if SKP file import functionality is available and the application can load SKP files
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Check for recent SKP file accessReview application logs, recent files list, or file system for recently opened SKP files. On Windows, check Windows Event Viewer for application crash logs related to SKP filesAffected if User has opened SKP files from potentially untrusted sources recently
If Cinema 4D version 2023.2.1 is installed and SKP file import functionality is present, the environment is directly affected by this vulnerability when opening malicious SKP 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 dataAvoid opening SKP files from untrusted sources. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider using application sandboxing or network isolation to limit the impact of successful exploitation.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-40486 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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