Overview
Recently, a critical vulnerability – CVE-2025-49674 – has been identified in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS). This security flaw, if exploited, can allow an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network. The vulnerability predominantly affects systems running Windows, especially those using the Routing and Remote Access Service. This blog post aims to shed light on this vulnerability, its potential impact, and the steps required to mitigate it. The severity of the issue necessitates immediate attention, as failure to address it can lead to severe system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49674
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Windows | All versions using RRAS
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the way Windows RRAS handles memory allocation for certain data types. An attacker can manipulate this flaw by sending specially crafted packets to the targeted system over a network. These packets can trigger a heap-based buffer overflow condition, causing the system to write data beyond the allocated memory bounds. This scenario can lead to arbitrary code execution, allowing the attacker to perform unauthorized activities or even gain control over the system.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a hypothetical example of how a malicious HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability might appear. This is not an actual exploit code but a conceptual demonstration:
POST /RRAS/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
{ "buffer_overflow_trigger_payload": "[MALICIOUS_DATA]" }In this example, `[MALICIOUS_DATA]` represents a crafted sequence of data intended to trigger the buffer overflow condition.
Recommendations for Mitigation
The recommended mitigation for this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-provided patch. This patch addresses the buffer overflow issue by correcting how Windows RRAS allocates memory for incoming network packets. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation measure. These tools can monitor network traffic and block or alert on potentially malicious packets that could exploit this vulnerability.