CVE-2023-48636 in Substance 3D Designer
Summary
by MITRE • 12/13/2023
Adobe Substance 3D Designer versions 13.0.0 (and earlier) and 13.1.0 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2024
Adobe Substance 3D Designer suffers from a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability classified as CVE-2023-48636 affecting versions 13.0.0 and earlier, as well as 13.1.0 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the application's handling of malformed input files and represents a fundamental flaw in memory management that can be exploited by malicious actors. The issue manifests when the software attempts to read data from memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, creating a potential pathway for information disclosure that could compromise the security posture of affected systems. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-125, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions in software applications. This flaw particularly impacts the application's memory protection mechanisms and can be leveraged to bypass critical security mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization, which is designed to prevent attackers from predicting memory addresses during exploitation attempts.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires a specific user interaction pattern where an unsuspecting victim must open a maliciously crafted file within the Substance 3D Designer application. This user interaction requirement places the vulnerability in the context of social engineering attacks where attackers must convince users to execute compromised files. The out-of-bounds read condition occurs during the parsing of file structures, particularly when processing specific data sequences that cause the application to access memory regions outside the intended boundaries. Attackers can craft files that trigger this behavior by manipulating internal data structures, potentially causing the application to read sensitive information from adjacent memory locations. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple information disclosure as it can expose memory addresses, encryption keys, or other sensitive data that could be used to further compromise the system.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-48636 presents significant risks to organizations relying on Adobe Substance 3D Designer for creative workflows and 3D asset development. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain insights into the application's memory layout and potentially extract information that aids in more sophisticated attacks. The bypass of ASLR mitigation mechanisms is particularly concerning as it undermines one of the primary defenses against exploitation attempts, making subsequent attacks more predictable and successful. Organizations using affected versions of the software face potential data breaches, intellectual property theft, and system compromise. The vulnerability's presence in both major release branches indicates a widespread impact across the user base, making it a high-priority target for threat actors seeking to exploit creative software environments where users may be less security-aware.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-48636 should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Substance 3D Designer installations to version 13.2.0 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes. Organizations should implement strict file validation procedures and consider deploying sandboxing mechanisms to isolate potentially malicious files during processing. Security teams should monitor for suspicious file execution patterns and establish user awareness programs to educate staff about the risks of opening untrusted files from unknown sources. Network-level protections such as email filtering and web content filtering can help prevent the delivery of malicious files to end users. Additionally, implementing application whitelisting policies can restrict execution of unauthorized software versions, while regular security assessments should verify that no other vulnerable applications exist within the organization's environment. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for application execution and T1068 for exploit development, making it important for security teams to monitor for these specific attack patterns in their threat detection systems.