CVE-2025-44654: Unauthorized Access and Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Linksys E2500

Overview

CVE-2025-44654 is a critical security vulnerability found in Linksys E2500 version 3.0.04.002. This vulnerability, if left unpatched, could potentially lead to unauthorized access to system files, privilege escalation, and further internal network attacks. Given the critical nature of this vulnerability, it is crucial for users and administrators of the affected Linksys E2500 routers to understand the implications of this vulnerability and implement the necessary mitigations.
The severity and wide-reaching impact of this vulnerability, combined with the high volume of Linksys E2500 devices deployed globally, makes CVE-2025-44654 a matter of significant concern in the cybersecurity community.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-44654
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Unauthorized access to system files, privilege escalation, potential for further internal network attacks.

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Linksys E2500 | 3.0.04.002

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability stems from an incorrect configuration in the vsftpd file, where the ‘chroot_local_user’ option is enabled. This allows a potential attacker to escape from the isolated environment, giving them unauthorized access to the filesystem. With access to system files, an attacker could escalate their privileges, potentially gaining full control of the system.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is not a real exploit, but a simplified example to illustrate the principles involved.

# Connect to the FTP server
ftp target.example.com
# Login with any user
ftp> user ftpuser
ftp> pass ftpuser
# Change to the root directory
ftp> cd /
# Now the attacker has access to the entire filesystem
ftp> ls

This simple example demonstrates how an attacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to the system files through the vulnerability. In the real world, an attacker would likely use more sophisticated methods to escalate their privileges and perform further malicious actions.