Overview
The cybersecurity landscape is filled with numerous threats, with new vulnerabilities emerging regularly. One such vulnerability, CVE-2025-23386, is an Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability discovered in the openSUSE Tumbleweed package, gerbera. This vulnerability has a significant impact on the security of affected systems as it allows the service user gerbera to escalate to root, thus resulting in potential system compromise or data leakage.
Affected systems are those running gerbera on openSUSE Tumbleweed before version 2.5.0-1.1. As a result, it is critical for system administrators and cybersecurity professionals to be aware of this vulnerability and the mitigation steps required to protect their systems.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-23386
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
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Product | Affected Versions
openSUSE Tumbleweed | Before 2.5.0-1.1
How the Exploit Works
The Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability CVE-2025-23386 is due to the software failing to correctly assign default permissions when installing and setting up the gerbera service. This oversight allows a local attacker, with service user ‘gerbera’ access, to escalate their privileges to root. The attacker can then perform unauthorized actions on the system, including accessing sensitive information or altering system configurations.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. A shell command could be used to exploit the incorrect default permissions and escalate privileges to root.
# Login as gerbera user
$ su gerbera
# Exploit the vulnerability to escalate to root
$ exploit_command_here
# Now as root, perform unauthorized actions
$ unauthorized_command_hereNote: The above code is a conceptual example and does not represent a real exploit. The actual commands that an attacker could use would depend on the specifics of the system and the vulnerability.
Mitigation Guidance
The recommended mitigation for the CVE-2025-23386 vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch. Users should update their openSUSE Tumbleweed package gerbera to version 2.5.0-1.1 or later. If the update is not immediately possible, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as temporary mitigation. However, these are not long-term solutions and the patch should be applied as soon as possible to fully protect against this vulnerability.