ArenaApplication · Rockwellautomation

CVE-2025-2829

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.20.09 or later.
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
A local code execution vulnerability exists in the Rockwell Automation Arena® due to a threat actor being able to write outside of the allocated memory buffer. The flaw is a result of improper validation of user-supplied data.  If exploited a threat actor can disclose information and execute arbitrary code on the system. To exploit the vulnerability a legitimate user must open a malicious DOE 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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Rockwell Automation Arena® due to improper validation of user-supplied data when parsing DOE files, allowing a threat actor to write outside allocated memory bounds. Successful exploitation enables information disclosure and arbitrary code execution through a malicious DOE file opened by a legitimate user.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted DOE files from unknown sources; apply official vendor patches when released; consider running Arena with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential code execution.

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
ArenaApplication
Affected:< 16.20.09

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. Check installed Arena version
    Open Arena and navigate to Help > About, or check the Windows Programs and Features list, or locate the arena.exe file in the installation directory and view its properties/version info
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 16.20.09 (e.g., 16.20.00, 16.10.x, etc.)
  2. Identify DOE file usage
    Search for .doe files in the system using File Explorer: look in common project directories, recent documents, or the Arena working folder for files with .doe extension
    Affected if Any .doe files exist on the system, indicating the DOE parsing feature is relevant to this installation
  3. Check for DOE import functionality
    In Arena, look for File > Open, File > Import, or similar menu options that reference DOE files, or check recent file history for .doe file openings
    Affected if The DOE file import/open feature is available and has been used recently
  4. Confirm DOE parsing is enabled by default
    Review Arena's default file associations and settings - DOE parsing appears to be a built-in capability triggered upon opening .doe files rather than a separately enabled module
    Affected if The software can natively open and parse .doe files without additional configuration

You are affected if Arena is installed at any version below 16.20.09 and the system has the ability to open or has opened DOE files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 16.20.09 or later
Fixed in 16.20.09
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted DOE files from unknown sources; apply official vendor patches when released; consider running Arena with reduced privileges to limit impact of potential code execution.

Recommended fix High confidence

Arena 16.20.09 or later

  1. 1. Navigate to the Rockwell Automation support website at www.rockwellautomation.com
  2. 2. Locate the Arena software download section
  3. 3. Download Arena version 16.20.09 or later
  4. 4. Verify the file integrity using provided checksums if available
  5. 5. Close any running instances of Arena
  6. 6. Install the updated Arena version following the standard installation procedure
  7. 7. After installation, verify the installed version matches 16.20.09 or later
  8. 8. Instruct users to only open DOE files from trusted sources to mitigate social engineering attempts

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Arena Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-2829 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data