Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2024-12703

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
CWE-502: Deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability exists that could lead to loss of confidentiality, integrity and potential remote code execution on workstation when a non-admin authenticated user opens a malicious project file.

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 CWE-502 deserialization vulnerability exists in the software's project file handling functionality. When a non-admin authenticated user opens a specially crafted malicious project file, the insecure deserialization can be triggered, potentially leading to loss of confidentiality, integrity, and remote code execution on the affected workstation.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening project files from untrusted or unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available and consider running the application with restricted privileges where possible.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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 the application and its version
    Locate the software's main executable or application metadata to find the installed version number. Check About or Help menus, or inspect the executable properties.
    Affected if The installed version falls within an affected range (compare to vendor advisories for CVE-2024-12703)
  2. Verify project file handling is enabled
    Confirm the application can open, import, or load project files (typically .proj, .spj, .vpx, or similar proprietary extensions). Check if such files are listed in File Open dialogs or documentation.
    Affected if Project file loading functionality exists and is accessible to users
  3. Confirm user authentication is active
    Check if the application requires user login or authentication to access project features. Look for login prompts, session tokens, or user management settings.
    Affected if Non-admin authenticated users can access the application and its project file features
  4. Inspect deserialization behavior in project files
    Examine the project file structure (if possible) for serialized data patterns such as binary blobs, encoded objects, or known serialization markers (e.g., O:00:, a:0:{}, serialized Java/Python objects, .NET BinaryFormatter data).
    Affected if Project files contain serialized or deserializable data objects that get processed on open
  5. Review application logs for deserialization events
    Enable debug or audit logging if available, then attempt to open a project file while monitoring logs for deserialization-related operations, exception messages about object instantiation, or class loading attempts.
    Affected if Logs show deserialization of untrusted data during project file processing

Your environment is affected if you run an application with project file handling that deserializes data without validation, allows non-admin users to open project files, and the vendor has not patched CVE-2024-12703.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid opening project files from untrusted or unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available and consider running the application with restricted privileges where possible.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-12703 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
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