CVE-2020-37066
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-37066 is a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in GoldWave audio editing software that allows remote code execution when a malicious file is opened. Attackers can craft Unicode-encoded shellcode in text files to trigger stack-based overflow and execute arbitrary commands. Users of GoldWave 5.70 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- GoldWave
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the victim's machine, enabling data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within networks.
Likely Case
Remote code execution leading to malware installation, credential theft, or system disruption when users open malicious files.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper application whitelisting, file integrity monitoring, and user awareness training prevent malicious file execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires user interaction to open malicious file. Public exploit code is available on Exploit-DB (ID 48510).
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 6.57 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.goldwave.com/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download latest GoldWave version from official website. 2. Uninstall current version. 3. Install updated version. 4. Restart system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable File Open URL feature
windowsPrevent exploitation by disabling or restricting access to the vulnerable File Open URL dialog functionality.
Application control policy
windowsImplement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized files through GoldWave.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file type restrictions to prevent opening of suspicious text files with GoldWave
- Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for buffer overflow exploitation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check GoldWave version via Help > About menu. If version is 5.70, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Not applicable - check via GUI Help > About menuVerify Fix Applied:
Verify GoldWave version is 6.57 or later in Help > About menu.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process creation from GoldWave.exe
- Memory access violations in application logs
- File open attempts with unusual Unicode patterns
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from GoldWave to unexpected destinations
- Download of suspicious text files followed by GoldWave execution
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Image contains 'goldwave.exe' AND CommandLine contains unusual Unicode patterns OR ParentImage contains suspicious downloader