CVE-2023-48637 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 that resides within the application's file parsing functionality. This vulnerability affects versions 13.0.0 and earlier, as well as 13.1.0 and earlier, representing a significant security risk for users who handle complex design files. The flaw manifests when the application processes specially crafted input files that contain malformed data structures, leading to memory access violations that can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability operates at the memory management level where the software fails to properly validate array bounds during file processing operations, creating opportunities for unauthorized memory access patterns.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it firmly within the CWE-125 category of out-of-bounds read conditions, which represents one of the most prevalent classes of memory safety issues in software applications. When an attacker constructs a malicious file with carefully crafted data sequences, the application's parsing logic attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. This behavior can potentially expose sensitive information stored in adjacent memory regions, including stack canaries, return addresses, or other critical application data. The vulnerability's exploitation requires user interaction, meaning that victims must open the malicious file within the application, making it a targeted attack vector that relies on social engineering or supply chain compromise techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can effectively bypass critical operating system security mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization. ASLR is designed to randomize memory layout to prevent attackers from predicting memory addresses for exploitation, but this vulnerability can potentially leak memory addresses through the out-of-bounds read behavior, thereby undermining the effectiveness of this protection mechanism. Attackers could leverage this information to craft more sophisticated exploits that target specific memory locations or to perform return-oriented programming attacks that rely on predictable memory layouts. The vulnerability affects the application's integrity and confidentiality, as it could potentially expose proprietary design assets or internal application state information.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected software versions, as Adobe has likely released security updates addressing this specific issue. Users should implement strict file validation procedures, particularly when handling files from untrusted sources or third-party design assets. Organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict the execution of unauthorized software versions and establish robust file handling protocols that include automated scanning for potentially malicious content. Network-level defenses such as intrusion detection systems can help identify suspicious file access patterns, while endpoint protection solutions should be configured to monitor for unusual memory access behaviors that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface for such memory safety issues.