CVE-2020-13545 : What You Need to Know

SoftMaker Office 2021's TextMaker application is affected by a signed conversion vulnerability that can lead to heap-based memory corruption when processing specially crafted documents.

Understanding CVE-2020-13545

An overview of the vulnerability and its impact.

What is CVE-2020-13545?

A signed conversion vulnerability in SoftMaker Office 2021's TextMaker application allows attackers to trigger heap-based memory corruption by exploiting the document parsing functionality.

The Impact of CVE-2020-13545

The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 8.8 (High) with significant impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, requiring user interaction for exploitation.

Technical Details of CVE-2020-13545

Insight into the vulnerability specifics.

Vulnerability Description

The issue arises from a miscalculation in buffer allocation, leading to writing outside the buffer's bounds, resulting in heap-based memory corruption.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: SoftMaker
Version: SoftMaker Software GmbH SoftMaker Office TextMaker 2021 (revision 1014)

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can entice victims to open a malicious document, triggering the vulnerability and potentially executing arbitrary code.

Mitigation and Prevention

Recommendations to address the CVE-2020-13545 vulnerability.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update SoftMaker Office to the latest version to patch the vulnerability.
Avoid opening unsolicited or suspicious documents from untrusted sources.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and security patches to protect against known vulnerabilities.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely installation of security updates and patches to mitigate the risk of exploitation.