Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-38583

Memory Safety in Tonybybell Gtkwave 3.3.115

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
08 January 2024
Modified
04 November 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0043 36th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-38583 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Tonybybell Gtkwave. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 36th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the LXT2 lxt2_rd_expand_integer_to_bits function of GTKWave 3.3.115. A specially crafted .lxt2 file can lead to arbitrary code execution. A victim would need to open a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

CWE(s)
CWE-120CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-35703Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-35704Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-35702Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-34436Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-35969Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-35970Same product: Tonybybell Gtkwave
CVE-2023-43548Shared CWE-120, CWE-787
CVE-2023-7222Shared CWE-120, CWE-787
CVE-2023-3164Shared CWE-120, CWE-787
CVE-2024-52066Shared CWE-120, CWE-787

Affected Assets

tonybybell
gtkwave
3.3.115

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References