CVE-2025-2634: Out of Bounds Read Vulnerability in NI LabVIEW

Overview

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has identified a potent cybersecurity vulnerability, designated as CVE-2025-2634, that exists in NI LabVIEW 2025 Q1 and prior versions. This vulnerability affects the fontmgr, where improper bounds checking can result in an out of bounds read situation. This could potentially lead to information disclosure or even arbitrary code execution. For the security breach to occur, an attacker would have to persuade a user to open a specially crafted VI. This vulnerability is of significant concern to individuals and organizations using affected versions of NI LabVIEW due to its potential to compromise systems and leak data.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-2634
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Local
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 exploit takes advantage of a flaw in the bounds checking of the fontmgr in NI LabVIEW. This flaw allows for an out of bounds read vulnerability. An attacker can craft a malicious VI that, when opened by a user, triggers this vulnerability. The improper bounds checking can then lead to information disclosure from the system’s memory or even the execution of arbitrary code. This execution occurs in the security context of the user running the application, which can lead to a full compromise of the system if the user has administrative privileges.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a conceptual example of how an attacker might craft a malicious VI to exploit this vulnerability. Note that this is a hypothetical example, not actual exploit code:

Open VI(Server.vi);
Set Fontmgr(invalid_bounds);
Read Memory(out_of_bounds);
If success {
Execute(arbitrary_code);
} Else {
Send Data(leaked_info);
}
Close VI(Server.vi);

In this pseudocode, the attacker opens a VI, sets the fontmgr to an out of bounds value, attempts to read memory, and if successful, executes arbitrary code. If the arbitrary code execution is unsuccessful, it sends the leaked information back to the attacker.

Mitigation Guidance

As a mitigation measure, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can offer temporary relief from potential exploit attempts. Regular monitoring of system logs and network traffic can also help in detecting any unusual activity that could indicate an attempted attack.