dbcve.org
ProteusApplication · Labcenter

CVE-2026-5494

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2026-04-11
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
Labcenter 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 processing 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-25719.

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

Labcenter Electronics Proteus contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its PDSPRJ file parser. The software fails to validate user-supplied data properly before writing to memory, allowing an attacker to write past the end of an allocated buffer. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process when a user opens a malicious PDSPRJ file.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted PDSPRJ files from unknown sources. Implement email filtering or sandboxing for .PDSPRJ attachments until an official vendor patch is available.

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
ProteusApplication
Affected:= 8.17

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. Identify installed Proteus version
    Check the software version by opening Proteus and navigating to Help > About, or check the uninstall entry in Windows Programs and Features. Look for 'Proteus 8.17' specifically.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 8.17 (Labcenter Proteus version 8.17).
  2. Locate the Proteus installation directory
    Common paths are C:\Program Files\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional or C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional. Verify the directory exists and contains Proteus application files.
    Affected if Proteus 8.17 is installed in the expected directory structure.
  3. Verify PDSPRJ file handler exists
    Check for the presence of PDSPRJ file parsing components in the Proteus installation directory. Look for libraries or modules that handle .PDSPRJ file loading, typically found in the main Proteus folder or a subfolder named 'BIN' or 'LIBRARY'.
    Affected if The PDSPRJ file parser component is present and loadable by the application.
  4. Confirm file association with PDSPRJ extension
    Check if .PDSPRJ files are associated with Proteus by examining Windows registry under HKCR\.pdsprj or by right-clicking any .pdsprj file to see the 'Open with' application.
    Affected if PDSPRJ files are associated with Proteus 8.17 as the default handler.

You are affected if Labcenter Proteus version 8.17 is installed and the software can open or parse .PDSPRJ files, as this is the exact vulnerable configuration.

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

Avoid opening untrusted PDSPRJ files from unknown sources. Implement email filtering or sandboxing for .PDSPRJ attachments until an official vendor patch is available.

Fix this in Proteus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,540
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,064.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-5494 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-5494 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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