CVE-2026-103825 in Substance 3D Designer
Summary
by MITRE • 10/13/2026
Substance3D - Designer is affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to disclose sensitive information. 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 • 10/13/2026
The identified vulnerability within Adobe Substance 3D Designer represents a critical security flaw classified as an out-of-bounds read, which falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-125. This specific type of memory safety error occurs when software attempts to access data at a memory location that lies outside the intended buffer boundaries. In the context of Adobe Substance 3D Designer, this defect is triggered during the parsing and processing of external asset files. The application fails to adequately validate the length or bounds of input data before reading from it, allowing an attacker to craft a malicious file containing specially constructed elements that cause the program to read beyond allocated memory segments. This lack of proper boundary checking is a fundamental implementation error that compromises the integrity of the application's memory management routines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers on the potential disclosure of sensitive information residing in adjacent memory locations. When an out-of-bounds read occurs, the application may inadvertently expose contents of memory that were not intended for access by the current process context. This can include stack data, heap metadata, or other sensitive variables from previous operations within the software instance. For a cyber security specialist, this is significant because such information leaks can serve as building blocks for more sophisticated attacks. An attacker could potentially use these leaked bytes to bypass address space layout randomization protections, identify loaded libraries, or extract cryptographic keys and session tokens if they reside in nearby memory regions. The severity of the impact is directly proportional to what sensitive data happens to be located in the adjacent memory at the time of exploitation.
Exploitation of this vulnerability requires a specific sequence of actions that involves social engineering elements due to its dependency on user interaction. A victim must actively open or import a malicious file crafted by an attacker into Adobe Substance 3D Designer. This requirement places the attack within the ATT&CK framework under techniques related to Initial Access, specifically those involving lure files or malicious document execution. The necessity for user action means that automated remote exploitation is not feasible; instead, the threat actor must deceive a target into loading compromised assets. Once triggered, the vulnerability executes in the context of the logged-on user, potentially allowing further compromise if the application has elevated privileges or access to sensitive project data stored locally on the victim's machine.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve strict adherence to vendor patching schedules and robust input validation practices during development. Users should immediately apply any available updates released by Adobe that address this specific flaw in Substance 3D Designer, as these patches typically include corrected boundary checks and enhanced memory safety protocols. From a defensive posture perspective, organizations can implement application whitelisting or sandboxing solutions to restrict the execution of untrusted files within isolated environments, thereby limiting the potential impact if an out-of-bounds read is triggered. Additionally, security awareness training should be conducted to educate users on recognizing suspicious file types and avoiding the opening of assets from unknown sources, reducing the likelihood of successful user interaction required for exploitation.