CVE-2025-25269: Local Unauthenticated Command Injection Leading to Privilege Escalation

Overview

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures identifier CVE-2025-25269 refers to a significant vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated local attacker to inject a command, which is later executed as root. This kind of security flaw poses a severe threat to system security by enabling privilege escalation. The potential impact of this vulnerability is vast, ranging from unauthorized system access to potential data leakage. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the very foundations of system security, potentially allowing attackers to compromise the entire system.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-25269
Severity: High (8.4 CVSS v3)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Privilege escalation, potential system compromise, and data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Product A | All versions prior to 5.0
Product B | Versions 2.0 to 3.5

How the Exploit Works

This exploit takes advantage of the fact that certain system processes do not adequately validate and sanitize user inputs. An attacker can craft a malicious payload containing a command and inject it into the system. The system, failing to recognize the malicious intent, executes the command as root. This leads to privilege escalation, allowing the attacker to perform actions that should typically require administrative privileges. This could include altering system settings, disabling security measures, or accessing sensitive data.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited. This does not represent an actual exploit but serves as an illustrative example.

$ echo "malicious_command" > /tmp/exploit.sh
$ chmod +x /tmp/exploit.sh
$ PATH="/tmp:$PATH" vulnerable_process

In this example, the attacker creates a script `exploit.sh` containing the `malicious_command`. The attacker then modifies the `PATH` environment variable to prioritize `/tmp` where the malicious script resides. When the `vulnerable_process` is invoked, it executes the attacker’s script with root privileges due to the manipulated `PATH`, leading to privilege escalation.
It’s important to note that this is a simplified example; real-world exploits might involve more complex techniques and obfuscation to evade detection.