CVE-2025-7996
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 Write 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 write 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-25982.
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 confidenceAshlar-Vellum Cobalt contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its AR file parser. The parser fails to properly validate user-supplied data during AR file parsing, allowing an attacker to write past the end of an allocated buffer. This memory corruption 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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Confirm Ashlar Cobalt installationCheck if Ashlar Cobalt CAD software is installed on the system by looking for the application in installed programs or searching for executable files associated with the productAffected if Ashlar Cobalt is installed and the system processes .ar files
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Identify AR file handling capabilityDetermine if the AR file parser module is available or enabled within the installed Ashlar Cobalt instance by examining the application's feature set or supported file type configurationsAffected if The AR file parsing feature is present and accessible in the installation
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Review recent AR file activityCheck for any recently opened or processed .ar files on the system by examining file access logs, temporary directories, or the application's recent files list if availableAffected if The system has opened or processed .ar files, especially from untrusted sources
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Assess exposure to untrusted AR filesEvaluate whether the system or users routinely import .ar files from external or untrusted sources by reviewing file download locations, email attachments, or network share access patternsAffected if Users routinely open .ar files from untrusted or unknown sources
If Ashlar Cobalt is installed and processes .ar files, particularly from untrusted sources, the system is potentially affected by this out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the AR file parser.
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 dataApply vendor patches when available. Until then, enforce strict policies against opening untrusted .ar files and consider network segmentation to limit exposure. Implementing robust input validation and bounds checking in the AR file parsing routine will be required for the fix.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-7996 — 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-2025-7996 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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