CVE-2023-39413 – This vulnerability allows attackers to execute ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-39413?

CVE-2023-39413 has a CVSS score of 7.0 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by tricking users into opening a malicious .lxt2 file in GTKWave. The integer underflow during left shift operations leads to memory corruption. Anyone using GTKWave to open untrusted waveform files is affected.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by tricking users into opening a malicious .lxt2 file in GTKWave. The integer underflow during left shift operations leads to memory corruption. Anyone using GTKWave to open untrusted waveform files is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

GTKWave

Versions: 3.3.115 and earlier

Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All installations that process .lxt2 files are vulnerable regardless of configuration.

📦 What is this software?

Gtkwave by Tonybybell

View all CVEs affecting Gtkwave →

⚠️ 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) when processing malicious files, potentially corrupting user data.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if users only open trusted files from verified sources.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - GTKWave is typically not an internet-facing service.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Risk exists when users open untrusted files from internal or external sources.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code has been identified.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 3.3.116 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://sourceforge.net/p/gtkwave/bugs/43/

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Download latest GTKWave from official source. 2. Uninstall old version. 3. Install new version. 4. Verify version is 3.3.116 or higher.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict file handling

all

Configure system to open .lxt2 files with alternative trusted software or disable automatic opening.

User awareness

all

Train users to only open .lxt2 files from trusted sources and verify file integrity.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of GTKWave
Use sandboxing or virtualization to isolate GTKWave when processing untrusted files

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check GTKWave version: Run 'gtkwave --version' or check About dialog in GUI.

Check Version:

gtkwave --version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm version is 3.3.116 or higher using version check command.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes with segmentation faults
Unexpected memory access errors in system logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual file downloads of .lxt2 files from untrusted sources

SIEM Query:

Process:gtkwave AND (EventID:1000 OR EventID:1001) OR FileExtension:.lxt2 AND SourceIP:External

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-39413

CVSS v3 Score: 7.0 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-191

Published: January 8, 2024

Last Updated: November 4, 2025

🔗 References

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/04/msg00007.html
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1824 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/04/msg00007.html
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1824 Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1824

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2023-39413, you might also want to check these: