# CVE-2023-27858: Rockwell Automation Arena® Simulation Uninitialized Pointer Vulnerability

> An attacker can execute arbitrary code by tricking a user into opening a malicious file in Rockwell Arena Simulation due to an uninitialized pointer.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 9 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7hqq-m574-qjp2

## What is CVE-2023-27858?

CVE-2023-27858 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation, published on 27 Oct 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation contains an arbitrary code execution vulnerability that could potentially allow a malicious user to commit unauthorized code to the software by using an uninitialized pointer in the application.  The threat-actor could then execute malicious code on the system affecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the product.  The user would need to open a malicious file provided to them by the attacker for the code to execute.

Weakness: CWE-824 (Access of Uninitialized Pointer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-27858?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Rockwellautomation Arena.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-27858?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-27858 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-27858 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-27858 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation

- [CVE-2025-2285](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2285/): Local Code Execution Vulnerability in Arena® (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2025-2286](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2286/): Local Code Execution Vulnerability in Arena® (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2025-2287](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2287/): Local Code Execution Vulnerability in Arena® (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2025-2288](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2288/): Local Code Execution Vulnerability in Arena® (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2025-2293](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2293/): Local Code Execution Vulnerability in Arena® (high 8.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-27858 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-27858 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation, published on 27 Oct 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-27858 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27858/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27858/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-27858
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-27858
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-27858

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27858/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.