CVE-2025-30421
📋 TL;DR
A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in NI Circuit Design Suite's SymbolEditor allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or disclose information by tricking users into opening malicious .sym files. This affects all users of NI Circuit Design Suite 14.3.0 and earlier versions. The vulnerability requires user interaction but could lead to complete system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- NI Circuit Design Suite
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with arbitrary code execution leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or information disclosure from the compromised user's context, potentially leading to lateral movement within the network.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to application sandboxing or restricted user privileges, though information disclosure may still occur.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious file, but buffer overflow exploitation is well-understood.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 14.3.1 or later
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download NI Circuit Design Suite 14.3.1 or later from NI website. 2. Run installer with administrative privileges. 3. Follow on-screen instructions. 4. Restart system after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable .sym file association
windowsRemove file association for .sym files to prevent automatic opening in vulnerable application
assoc .sym=
ftype NI.SymbolEditor=
Restrict .sym file execution
windowsUse application control policies to block execution of .sym files in NI Circuit Design Suite
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict user training about opening untrusted .sym files
- Deploy application sandboxing or virtualization for NI Circuit Design Suite
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check NI Circuit Design Suite version in Help > About. If version is 14.3.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wmic product where "name like 'NI Circuit Design Suite%'" get versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 14.3.1 or later in Help > About menu.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes in NI Circuit Design Suite
- Unusual process creation from NI Circuit Design Suite
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from NI Circuit Design Suite to unknown IPs
SIEM Query:
source="windows" AND (process_name="CircuitDesignSuite.exe" AND (event_id=1000 OR event_id=1001))