CVE-2025-7989
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 · uneditedAshlar-Vellum Cobalt AR File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read 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 AR files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated data structure. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-25943.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt's AR file parser due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data. The lack of proper bounds checking allows reading past the end of an allocated data structure, which can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution in the context of the current process.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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:3.0/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 Ashlar Cobalt installationCheck for Ashlar Cobalt in installed programs (Windows: Add/Remove Programs, Program Files; macOS: /Applications; Linux: package manager or /opt). Search for files named 'Cobalt', 'Ashlar', or executables like cobalt.exe, ashlar.exe.Affected if Ashlar Cobalt software is found on the system
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Confirm AR file handler is activeCheck if AR file extension association exists. On Windows, search registry under HKCR\.ar or look for file associations. On systems with Cobalt, check if AR files can be opened or if the AR parser module loads.Affected if AR file parsing capability is enabled or AR files can be opened by the software
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Identify version for inventoryLaunch Ashlar Cobalt and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view version information. If version cannot be determined, note that all versions are affected.Affected if Any version of Ashlar Cobalt is installed (all versions are affected)
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Audit recent AR file accessReview recent file access logs, document repositories, or the application's recent files list for .ar file activity. Check temp directories for recently processed AR files.Affected if AR files have been opened or processed by the software
The environment is affected if Ashlar Cobalt is installed and can process AR files, since the vulnerability exists in the AR file parser for all versions.
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 untrusted or malicious AR files. Apply vendor-provided security updates for Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt once available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-7989 — 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-2025-7989 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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