CVE-2025-24006: Local Privilege Escalation Through Insecure SSH Permissions

Overview

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has recently identified an alarming vulnerability, CVE-2025-24006, posing a substantial risk to digital security. This flaw allows a low privileged local attacker to elevate their privileges to root via insecure SSH permissions on affected devices. This vulnerability is particularly alarming as it can potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage, severely impacting businesses, organizations, and individuals who may be using the affected products. For organizations with high-security needs, such vulnerability may pose dire consequences if not addressed promptly.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-24006
Severity: High, CVSS Score: 7.8
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

[Product 1] | [All versions up to 1.1.1]
[Product 2] | [All versions prior to 2.2.2]

How the Exploit Works

The exploit works by leveraging insecure permissions on the SSH configuration of affected devices. A low privileged user, having local access to the system, can exploit these permissions to escalate their privileges to the level of a root user. This high level of access allows the attacker to potentially compromise the system or leak sensitive data. The exploit essentially bypasses the typical security restrictions, capitalizing on the flawed SSH permissions to gain unauthorized access.

Conceptual Example Code

This conceptual code example demonstrates how the vulnerability might be exploited. The code simulates a shell command that a local user might use to exploit insecure SSH permissions and escalate their privileges to root.

ssh -t target_user@localhost 'echo "malicious_command" | sudo -S bash'

In this example, `target_user` represents a low privileged user on the system, `localhost` demonstrates that the attack is performed locally, `malicious_command` stands for an arbitrary command that the attacker wants to execute as root, and `sudo -S bash` is the command that escalates the user’s privileges to root.
This is a simplified representation to illustrate the exploit. Actual attack vectors may vary in complexity and sophistication.

Mitigation Guidance

To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it is available. If the patch is not yet available, or if your system cannot be updated immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) may serve as a temporary mitigation. These tools can help detect and block malicious activities, providing an additional layer of security.
In the long term, it is crucial to regularly update and patch your systems, and to follow best practices for SSH configuration and permission settings. This includes using strong unique passwords, disabling root login, and limiting the number of users with sudo privileges.