CVE-2025-21470: Critical Memory Corruption Vulnerability in Image Encoding

Overview

The cybersecurity landscape is an ever-evolving field, where new vulnerabilities are discovered, and patches are released regularly. One such vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-21470, has recently caught the attention of security professionals worldwide. This vulnerability is a memory corruption issue that occurs during image encoding when the configuration is NULL in IOCTL parameter. Its widespread impact and high severity make it a critical issue that demands immediate attention. Organizations and individuals who deal with image processing and encoding systems must be aware of this vulnerability to ensure the security and integrity of their systems and data.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-21470
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

ImageProc | v1.0 to v3.5
PicEncoder | v2.1

How the Exploit Works

This exploit takes advantage of a flaw in the way that the software handles image encoding. Specifically, the vulnerability is triggered when the system is processing image encoding tasks with a NULL configuration in the IOCTL parameter. An attacker, with local access and low privilege, could send a crafted IOCTL call with a NULL configuration. This could lead to memory corruption, and in worst-case scenarios, result in system compromise or data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited-in this case, a crafted IOCTL call:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
int main() {
int fd = open("/dev/vulnerable_device", O_RDWR);
if (fd < 0) {
perror("open");
return -1;
}
char *null_config = NULL;
int ret = ioctl(fd, IOCTL_ENCODE_IMAGE, null_config);
if (ret < 0) {
perror("ioctl");
return -1;
}
return 0;
}

In this example, the attacker opens the vulnerable device file and then sends an IOCTL call to it with a NULL configuration, potentially triggering the memory corruption.

Mitigation Guidance

To mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2025-21470, vendors are encouraged to apply the necessary patches as soon as they become available. In the meantime, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation. These systems can be configured to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability, thus providing an additional layer of security while a more permanent solution is being implemented.