CVE-2023-35057
📋 TL;DR
An integer overflow vulnerability in GTKWave's LXT2 file parser allows memory corruption when processing specially crafted .lxt2 files. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious files, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Users of GTKWave who open untrusted waveform files are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- GTKWave
📦 What is this software?
Gtkwave by Tonybybell
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution with the privileges of the user running GTKWave, potentially leading to full system compromise.
Likely Case
Application crash (denial of service) or limited memory corruption that could be leveraged for code execution.
If Mitigated
No impact if users only open trusted files or the application is patched.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file). Proof-of-concept details are available in the Talos Intelligence report.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check with distribution maintainers or upstream for patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1821
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update GTKWave to a patched version from your distribution's repository. 2. For Debian systems, apply security updates via 'apt update && apt upgrade'. 3. Verify the fix by checking the version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file access
allOnly open .lxt2 files from trusted sources. Implement file integrity checking for waveform files.
Use alternative formats
allConvert .lxt2 files to other waveform formats (like VCD) before opening in GTKWave.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Run GTKWave with reduced privileges or in a sandboxed environment
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of malicious code
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check GTKWave version: 'gtkwave --version' or 'dpkg -l gtkwave' on Debian systems. If version is 3.3.115 or earlier, it's likely vulnerable.Check Version:
gtkwave --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify the version is newer than 3.3.115. Test with known safe .lxt2 files to ensure functionality.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with memory access errors
- Unexpected process termination when opening .lxt2 files
Network Indicators:
- Unusual file downloads followed by GTKWave execution
SIEM Query:
process_name:"gtkwave" AND (event_type:"crash" OR file_extension:".lxt2")🔗 References
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/04/msg00007.html
- https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1821
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/04/msg00007.html
- https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1821
- https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1821
