CVE-2025-21168 in Substance3D
Summary
by MITRE • 07/08/2025
Substance3D - Designer versions 14.1 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 • 07/08/2025
This vulnerability exists in Substance3D Designer versions 14.1 and earlier, representing a critical out-of-bounds read flaw that fundamentally compromises memory safety mechanisms. The technical implementation appears to involve improper input validation within the file parsing routines that process design assets, where the application fails to properly bounds-check array accesses or buffer operations when handling maliciously crafted files. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 category of out-of-bounds read conditions, where the application reads memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited to bypass modern exploit mitigations such as address space layout randomization, which is a fundamental security feature designed to prevent attackers from predicting memory addresses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates a pathway for attackers to extract sensitive memory contents that may include stack canaries, heap metadata, or other security-relevant information. When an attacker successfully triggers this out-of-bounds read, they can potentially obtain memory addresses that reveal the layout of the application's memory space, effectively undermining ASLR protections that are essential for modern exploit resistance. The requirement for user interaction through opening a malicious file means that this vulnerability operates within the realm of social engineering attacks, where victims must be convinced to open specially crafted design files. This interaction model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1204.002 for legitimate user execution, where adversaries leverage user trust to deliver malicious payloads. The attack surface is limited to the application's file handling capabilities, making it particularly dangerous in environments where design files are frequently shared or imported from untrusted sources.
The exploitation chain for this vulnerability begins with crafting a malicious file that triggers the out-of-bounds read condition during normal file parsing operations. When the victim opens such a file, the application's memory access patterns cause it to read beyond intended buffer boundaries, potentially exposing memory contents that can be leveraged for further exploitation. This type of vulnerability is particularly insidious because it operates silently in the background, with no immediate visible impact to the user while simultaneously providing attackers with critical information needed for more sophisticated attacks. The vulnerability's classification as a memory safety issue places it within the broader category of software reliability problems that can be exploited for privilege escalation or information disclosure attacks. Organizations using Substance3D Designer should prioritize immediate patching to address this vulnerability, as the combination of the out-of-bounds read condition with the bypass capability for ASLR creates a significant risk to systems where these design tools are deployed. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor input validation flaws can have cascading security implications, particularly when they affect core application functionality such as file handling and memory management operations.