CVE-2019-25620: Pixarra Tree Studio DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2019-25620 Overview

CVE-2019-25620 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting Pixarra Tree Studio version 2.17. The vulnerability allows local attackers to crash the application by providing malformed input through the keyboard interface. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability by entering arbitrary characters during application runtime, causing the application to become unresponsive or terminate abnormally.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can cause application crashes and service disruption through malformed keyboard input, affecting availability of the Tree Studio application.

Affected Products

• Pixarra Tree Studio 2.17

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-23 - CVE-2019-25620 published to NVD
• 2026-03-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2019-25620

Vulnerability Analysis

This denial of service vulnerability exists in Pixarra Tree Studio 2.17 due to improper input validation when processing keyboard input. The application fails to properly sanitize or handle malformed character sequences entered through the keyboard interface during runtime operation. This lack of proper input handling allows an attacker with local access to craft specific input that triggers an unhandled exception or memory corruption, leading to application instability.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-168 (Improper Handling of Inconsistent Special Elements), indicating that the application does not properly process unexpected or malformed special characters in the input stream. When the application encounters these problematic inputs, it lacks appropriate error handling mechanisms to gracefully manage the condition, resulting in a crash or hang state.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation within Tree Studio's keyboard input handling routines. The application does not implement proper boundary checking or input sanitization for character data received from the keyboard interface. This allows malformed or unexpected character sequences to propagate through the application's processing logic without proper filtering, ultimately triggering a failure condition.

Attack Vector

This is a local attack vector vulnerability requiring the attacker to have physical or interactive access to a system running Tree Studio 2.17. The attack can be executed by:

1. Gaining local access to a workstation where Tree Studio is running
2. Entering specially crafted or arbitrary character sequences through the keyboard during application operation
3. The malformed input causes the application to crash or become unresponsive

The attack does not require authentication or elevated privileges, making it relatively straightforward to exploit given local access. However, the impact is limited to denial of service affecting application availability rather than data compromise or code execution.

For technical details and proof-of-concept information, refer to Exploit-DB #46125 and the VulnCheck advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2019-25620

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected Tree Studio application crashes or hangs during normal operation
• Windows Event Log entries indicating application faults for Tree Studio processes
• Multiple rapid application restarts indicating repeated crash attempts
• User reports of application instability when entering specific character sequences

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for abnormal application termination events associated with Tree Studio 2.17
• Implement endpoint detection rules to identify repeated application crash patterns
• Review system event logs for unhandled exception errors from the tbtreestudio executable
• Deploy SentinelOne agents to detect and alert on suspicious application behavior patterns

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure Windows Event Forwarding to collect application crash events centrally
• Enable detailed logging for workstations running creative software applications
• Set up alerts for repeated application failures within short time windows
• Monitor for unusual keyboard input patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2019-25620

Immediate Actions Required

• Inventory all systems running Pixarra Tree Studio 2.17 across the organization
• Restrict local access to systems running vulnerable Tree Studio versions where possible
• Contact Pixarra to inquire about available patches or updated versions
• Consider temporarily disabling or removing Tree Studio on critical systems until a patch is available

Patch Information

No vendor-provided patch information is currently available for this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor the Pixarra website for security updates and newer versions of Tree Studio that may address this issue. It is recommended to upgrade to the latest available version of Tree Studio if one exists that resolves this vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Limit local access to systems running Tree Studio to only authorized and trusted users
• Implement application whitelisting to control which users can execute Tree Studio
• Deploy endpoint protection solutions like SentinelOne to detect and respond to exploitation attempts
• Consider running Tree Studio in a sandboxed or isolated environment to limit impact of crashes
• Implement user activity monitoring on systems where Tree Studio is deployed