Ashlar-Vellum CAD suite buffer overflow and memory corruption vulnerabilities
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Four memory corruption flaws in Ashlar-Vellum CAD products allow arbitrary code execution via malformed file parsing; patch available.
CISA released an advisory on August 12, 2025 covering four memory corruption vulnerabilities affecting Ashlar-Vellum's CAD suite: Cobalt, Xenon, Argon, Lithium, and Cobalt Share. All versions prior to 12.6.1204.204 are vulnerable. The flaws stem from insufficient validation of user-supplied data when parsing proprietary file formats (.CO, .AR, .XE, .VC6), resulting in out-of-bounds writes, out-of-bounds reads, and heap-based buffer overflows. A successful attacker can disclose information or execute arbitrary code in the context of the application's process.
The vulnerabilities require local attack surface—exploitation is triggered by convincing a user to open a malicious file. Attack complexity is low, and user interaction is required. CVSS v4 base scores are 8.4 for each flaw. CISA has received no reports of in-the-wild exploitation as of publication date. The advisory was filed by researcher Michael Heinzl. The affected products are deployed in critical manufacturing infrastructure worldwide.
Mentioned in this report
Detection guidance
Ashlar-Vellum CAD Application Spawning Shell or Script Interpreter
Detects Ashlar-Vellum CAD applications (Cobalt, Xenon, Argon, Lithium) spawning command shells, script hosts or common LOLBins, which may indicate code execution after a malicious CAD file (.CO, .AR, .XE, .VC6) triggered a memory corruption flaw. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.
title: Ashlar-Vellum CAD Application Spawning Shell or Script Interpreter
description: Detects Ashlar-Vellum CAD applications (Cobalt, Xenon, Argon, Lithium)
spawning command shells, script hosts or common LOLBins. This may indicate arbitrary
code execution after a user opened a malicious CAD file that triggered an out-of-bounds
write or heap overflow. Generalises on the parent/child relation, not on any file
name.
tags:
- attack.execution
- attack.t1204.002
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_parent_name:
ParentImage|endswith:
- \Cobalt.exe
- \Xenon.exe
- \Argon.exe
- \Lithium.exe
selection_parent_path:
ParentImage|contains: \Ashlar-Vellum\
selection_child:
Image|endswith:
- \cmd.exe
- \powershell.exe
- \pwsh.exe
- \wscript.exe
- \cscript.exe
- \mshta.exe
- \rundll32.exe
- \regsvr32.exe
- \certutil.exe
- \bitsadmin.exe
- \msbuild.exe
condition: 1 of selection_parent_* and selection_child
falsepositives:
- CAD plugins or installers/updaters that launch cmd.exe or rundll32.exe from the
application directory
- Engineering macros or export scripts that call a shell from the CAD application
level: medium
id: 76756598-2ea1-5b58-a162-6466952789af
status: experimental
author: Vorant
references:
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-25-224-01
Behavioural rules are generated from public reporting — validate in your environment before deploying.
Source reporting: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-25-224-01
What this brief leaves out
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