Overview
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, a new vulnerability has surfaced. Identified as CVE-2025-21458, this memory corruption vulnerability occurs when the IOCTL interface is called to map and unmap buffers simultaneously. This vulnerability leaves a system open to potential compromise or data leakage, making it a serious threat to both individual users and businesses alike. It is crucial to understand the nature of this vulnerability, how it can be exploited, and the steps to mitigate its potential impact.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-21458
Severity: High (7.8/10.0)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Product A | Version 1.0 to 2.5
Product B | Version 3.0 to 5.0
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is the result of a flaw in the handling of IOCTL (Input Output Control) interfaces, which are used to manipulate the underlying device parameters of computer systems. When an attacker makes simultaneous calls to map and unmap buffers via this interface, it leads to memory corruption. This can disturb the normal flow of the system, making it behave unpredictably or even causing it to crash. In worst-case scenarios, this vulnerability can be exploited to execute arbitrary code or to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
int main() {
int fd;
char *buffer = malloc(1024);
// Simultaneously mapping and unmapping the buffer
ioctl(fd, IOCTL_MAP, buffer);
ioctl(fd, IOCTL_UNMAP, buffer);
// Attempt to use the buffer after unmapping
buffer[0] = 'A';
free(buffer);
return 0;
}In the above pseudo C code, the IOCTL system calls are used to simultaneously map and unmap the buffer. The attempt to use the buffer after it has been unmapped results in memory corruption, thereby exploiting the vulnerability.
Mitigation
Users are urged to apply the vendor-provided patches to mitigate the vulnerability. If the patches are not yet available, users can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as temporary mitigation. Regularly updating the system and maintaining a robust security protocol can prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited.
