CobaltApplication · Ashlar

CVE-2025-11463

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-29
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
Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt XE File Parsing Integer 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 XE files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in an integer overflow before allocating a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-26626.

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 confidence

This is an integer overflow vulnerability in Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt's XE file parser. The parser fails to properly validate user-supplied data before performing buffer allocation calculations, allowing an integer overflow to occur. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious XE file that triggers the overflow, leading to buffer overflow and potential remote code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationDo not open untrusted XE files from unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

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
CobaltApplication
Affected:= 12.2.1204.97

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. Confirm Ashlar Cobalt is installed
    Locate Ashlar Cobalt on the system by checking installed programs in the system control panel or by searching for the application executable (commonly in Program Files).
    Affected if The application Ashlar Cobalt is present on the system.
  2. Identify the installed version
    Open Ashlar Cobalt and navigate to Help > About, or check the program's properties by right-clicking the executable and viewing the Version information. Record the full version number displayed.
    Affected if The version displayed is 12.2.1204.97.
  3. Verify XE file support is available
    Confirm the application can open XE files by checking the file open dialog for .xe file extension support, or attempting to open a benign XE file if one is available.
    Affected if The application supports opening or parsing XE files.
  4. Check for untrusted XE file sources
    Review the system for any XE files obtained from untrusted or unknown sources, particularly in download folders or recent documents.
    Affected if The user has XE files from untrusted sources that could be opened by the application.

A user is affected if Ashlar Cobalt version 12.2.1204.97 is installed and the application can be used to open XE files, especially from untrusted sources.

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

Do not open untrusted XE files from unknown sources. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider running the application with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

Fix this in Cobalt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-11463 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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