CVE-2025-21139
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 · uneditedSubstance3D - Designer versions 14.0 and earlier are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious 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 · high confidenceSubstance3D Designer versions 14.0 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in file parsing logic. When a user opens a maliciously crafted design file (.sbsar or related format), the application overflows a heap-allocated buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory and achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.
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< 14.1CVSS 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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Identify installed Adobe Substance 3D Designer versionOpen the application and navigate to Help > About Substance 3D Designer, or locate the executable (commonly at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Substance 3D Designer\Substance 3D Designer.exe), right-click it, select Properties, and view the File version on the Details tabAffected if The version shown is 14.0 or earlier (any version below 14.1)
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Query Windows registry for precise versionOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Substance 3D Designer (or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Substance 3D Designer on 64-bit systems), then locate the Version or DisplayVersion valueAffected if The registry shows a version string less than 14.1 (for example, 14.0, 13.x, or earlier)
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Verify the file parsing component existsConfirm the application can open .sbsar files - check that the application installation includes file association handlers for .sbsar and related formats (look in the installation directory for sbsar-related DLLs or plugins)Affected if The application has file parsing capabilities for .sbsar or related design formats and the version is below 14.1
You are affected if Adobe Substance 3D Designer is installed at version 14.0 or any earlier version, since the heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in file parsing affects all versions prior to 14.1.
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.
dbcve · scoped14.1
Update Substance3D Designer to a version newer than 14.0 once Adobe releases the security patch. Until patched, avoid opening design files from untrusted sources and consider running the application with limited privileges.
14.1
- Verify your current Adobe Substance 3D Designer version by opening the application and checking Help > About (or the application menu on macOS)
- Close any running instances of Adobe Substance 3D Designer
- Download Adobe Substance 3D Designer version 14.1 or later from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com) or Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
- Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to upgrade to version 14.1
- After installation completes, launch Substance 3D Designer and verify the version shows 14.1 or later under Help > About
- Ensure you do not open untrusted or suspicious files in Substance 3D Designer, as exploitation requires user interaction with a malicious file
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21139 — 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-2025-21139 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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