CVE-2025-2633: Critical Out of Bounds Read Vulnerability in NI LabVIEW

Overview

CVE-2025-2633 is a serious security vulnerability that resides in the popular software, NI LabVIEW. The flaw, which is essentially an out of bounds read vulnerability, has the potential to disclose sensitive information or even execute arbitrary code on affected systems. This vulnerability is a serious threat as it affects NI LabVIEW 2025 Q1 versions and older, widely used in industries including engineering, academia, and research. The severity of this vulnerability is underscored by its Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score of 7.8, indicating its high-risk nature.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-2633
Severity: High, with a CVSS score of 7.8
Attack Vector: Local Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise and data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

NI LabVIEW | 2025 Q1 and prior versions

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability lies in the lvre!UDecStrToNum function of NI LabVIEW. An attacker can craft a specially designed VI (Virtual Instrument) file that, when opened by an unsuspecting user, exploits the improper bounds checking issue in this function. This allows for an out-of-bounds read, resulting in unauthorized information disclosure or arbitrary code execution.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a basic conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability with a malicious VI file:

# Attacker crafts a malicious VI file
$ echo 'malicious_code' > exploit.vi
# Attacker sends the malicious VI file to the target
$ scp exploit.vi user@target:/path/to/vi/files/
# User on target system opens the malicious VI file in LabVIEW
$ labview /path/to/vi/files/exploit.vi

In this example, the ‘malicious_code’ would be specially crafted to exploit the out-of-bounds read vulnerability in lvre!UDecStrToNum function, possibly leading to information disclosure or arbitrary code execution.
Please note that this is a conceptual example and not actual exploit code. Exploiting this vulnerability would require a deep understanding of LabVIEW and its underlying architecture.

Mitigation Guidance

The most effective mitigation measure is to apply the vendor patch as soon as possible. If this is not immediately feasible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary measure to detect and block any attempts to exploit this vulnerability.