CobaltApplication · Ashlar

CVE-2025-7992

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2025-09-17
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
Ashlar-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-25972.

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 out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt's AR file parser. The parser fails to properly validate user-supplied data during AR file parsing, allowing a read operation to access memory beyond the bounds of an allocated buffer. An attacker can exploit this to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited AR files. The vendor should implement proper bounds checking and validation of all user-supplied data during AR file parsing to prevent out-of-bounds memory access.

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:all versions

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:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify if Ashlar Cobalt is installed
    Check for the presence of Ashlar Cobalt application in the system (typically under Program Files or Program Files (x86), or search for 'Cobalt' in installed programs)
    Affected if The product is installed and accessible on the system
  2. Identify the installed version of Ashlar Cobalt
    Open the application and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the version number
    Affected if Any version of Ashlar Cobalt is found (all versions are affected)
  3. Confirm AR file parsing capability exists
    Launch Ashlar Cobalt and attempt to access the file open dialog. Verify if AR file format appears in the supported file type list (look for .ar extension support in the file filters)
    Affected if AR file format is listed as a supported import type in the application
  4. Check if AR files can be opened or imported
    Attempt to open an AR file through File > Open or File > Import menu, or verify the AR file type is recognized by the application's file dialog
    Affected if The application recognizes and can process AR file formats

A system is affected if Ashlar Cobalt is installed and the application supports AR file parsing, since all versions of the product contain the vulnerability.

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 untrusted or unsolicited AR files. The vendor should implement proper bounds checking and validation of all user-supplied data during AR file parsing to prevent out-of-bounds memory access.

Fix this in Cobalt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2025-7992 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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