CVE-2026-5493
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 · uneditedLabcenter Electronics Proteus PDSPRJ File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Labcenter Electronics Proteus. 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 PDSPRJ 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 buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-25718.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in Labcenter Electronics Proteus during PDSPRJ file parsing. The application fails to properly validate user-supplied data when processing these project files, allowing an out-of-bounds write operation that corrupts memory beyond an allocated buffer. This memory corruption can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution within 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 data= 8.17CVSS 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 Labcenter Proteus installationCheck the system for Labcenter Proteus installation directories or look in common program installation locations (e.g., C:\Program Files\Labcenter Electronics\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\)Affected if Proteus software is present on the system
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Determine installed Proteus versionLocate the Proteus executable (usually named ISIS.exe or Proteus.exe) and check its version properties through the file system, or run the application and access Help > About to view the version numberAffected if The installed version is 8.17 (the only affected version listed)
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Confirm PDSPRJ file associationCheck if .pdsprj file extension is registered with Proteus by looking at file associations in Windows Settings > Apps > Default Apps, or by right-clicking any .pdsprj file to see what application opens itAffected if PDSPRJ files are configured to open with Labcenter Proteus, meaning the vulnerable parsing code could be triggered by opening a malicious file
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Identify usage of untrusted PDSPRJ filesReview recent file access logs, email attachments, or download folders for .pdsprj files obtained from external or untrusted sourcesAffected if The user or organization has a workflow that involves opening PDSPRJ files from untrusted or unknown origins, which is the attack vector for this vulnerability
A system is affected if Labcenter Proteus version 8.17 is installed and the user or workflow could potentially open PDSPRJ files, since exploitation requires the application to parse a maliciously crafted project file.
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 dataUsers should avoid opening PDSPRJ files from untrusted sources. Organizations should implement file type restrictions and consider sandboxing environments for testing untrusted design files until an official vendor patch is available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5493 — 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-2026-5493 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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