CVE-2025-65085 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability classified under CWE-122, affecting multiple Ashlar-Vellum products including Cobalt, Xenon, Argon, Lithium, and Cobalt Share up to version 12.6.1204.207. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of heap memory allocations, which can be manipulated by an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory regions. This can lead to arbitrary code execution or unauthorized information disclosure. The vulnerability is exploitable locally without requiring any privileges, but it does require user interaction, such as opening a malicious file or triggering a specific application behavior. The CVSS v4.0 score of 8.4 reflects a high severity due to the potential for full confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise. No patches or exploit code are currently publicly available, but the risk remains significant given the nature of the flaw. The affected software is commonly used in CAD and design workflows, which often contain sensitive intellectual property and operational data. The vulnerability does not require network access, limiting remote exploitation but increasing the risk in environments where local user accounts may be compromised or untrusted. The lack of known exploits in the wild suggests this is a recently discovered issue, but proactive mitigation is critical to prevent future attacks.

For European organizations, especially those in manufacturing, engineering, and design sectors that rely on Ashlar-Vellum products, this vulnerability poses a serious risk. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of proprietary design data, intellectual property theft, or full system compromise through arbitrary code execution. This could disrupt business operations, cause financial losses, and damage reputations. Given the local access requirement, insider threats or compromised user accounts could be leveraged by attackers. The high severity score indicates that successful exploitation could impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical systems. Organizations with distributed teams or contractors using these products may face increased exposure. Additionally, regulatory compliance related to data protection (e.g., GDPR) could be impacted if sensitive data is leaked. The absence of patches means organizations must rely on interim controls to reduce risk until a fix is available.

1. Restrict local access to systems running Ashlar-Vellum products to trusted users only, employing strict access controls and user account management. 2. Implement application whitelisting and endpoint detection to monitor for unusual behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 3. Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted files or interacting with suspicious content within the affected applications. 4. Use sandboxing or virtualization to isolate the application environment where feasible, limiting the impact of potential exploits. 5. Maintain up-to-date backups of critical design and project files to enable recovery in case of compromise. 6. Monitor vendor communications closely for patch releases and apply updates promptly once available. 7. Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focusing on local privilege escalation and memory corruption vectors. 8. Employ host-based intrusion prevention systems (HIPS) that can detect and block heap overflow exploitation techniques. 9. Review and harden system configurations, including disabling unnecessary features or plugins within Ashlar-Vellum products that may increase attack surface.