VulnerabilityPublished 8 Jan 2024Updated 3 Jun 2025

CVE-2023-35057: GTKWave · Integer Overflow or Wraparound

Affects GTKWaveSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 32% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 8 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Debiandebian/gtkwave`pkg:deb/debian/gtkwave`Other threats	Affected =3.3.115	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement several specific mitigations beyond generic advice: 1) Restrict GTKWave usage to trusted users and environments, ideally isolated from general-purpose workstations to reduce exposure to malicious files. 2) Implement strict file validation and scanning policies for .lxt2 files before opening them in GTKWave, including sandboxing or using dedicated analysis environments. 3) Monitor and control the distribution channels of waveform files to prevent introduction of maliciously crafted files, including email filtering and endpoint protection tuned to detect anomalous .lxt2 files. 4) Encourage users to verify the source and integrity of waveform files before opening them, incorporating user training focused on this specific threat vector. 5) Maintain up-to-date backups of critical design data and simulation results to enable recovery in case of denial of service or data corruption. 6) Track GTKWave vendor communications for patches or updates addressing CVE-2023-35057 and apply them promptly once available. 7) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect unusual GTKWave behaviors indicative of exploitation attempts. 8) Consider network segmentation to limit the impact of a compromised system within the engineering environment.

Description

An integer overflow vulnerability exists in the LXT2 lxt2_rd_trace value elements allocation functionality of GTKWave 3.3.115. A specially crafted .lxt2 file can lead to memory corruption. A victim would need to open a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-35057 can be significant in sectors relying on hardware simulation and verification tools, such as semiconductor manufacturers, automotive suppliers, aerospace companies, and research institutions. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution on systems running GTKWave, potentially compromising sensitive intellectual property related to hardware designs or disrupting critical engineering workflows. Memory corruption could also cause denial of service, halting simulation analysis and delaying development cycles. Given that the vulnerability requires opening a malicious .lxt2 file, the risk vector often involves insider threats or targeted spear-phishing campaigns delivering malicious waveform files. The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of design data and simulation results are at risk, which could have downstream effects on product quality and time-to-market. Additionally, compromised systems could be used as footholds for lateral movement within corporate networks, increasing the risk of broader industrial espionage or sabotage. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the high severity score and ease of triggering via user interaction warrant proactive mitigation.

CWE-190Integer Overflow or Wraparound (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.
Requirements
Ensure that all protocols are strictly defined, such that all out-of-bounds behavior can be identified simply, and require strict conformance to the protocol.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.4.3 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Forced Integer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Jul 2025, 04:42 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-190

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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