Overview
A critical vulnerability, designated as CVE-2025-2851, has been discovered in a wide range of GL.iNet products. This vulnerability is particularly significant due to its high severity (CVSS score: 8.0) and the potential for system compromise or data leakage. The vulnerability resides in an unknown function of the file plugins.so of the RPC Handler component, resulting in a buffer overflow condition. Given the potential for serious harm, it is essential for organizations using any of the affected GL.iNet products to understand the nature of this vulnerability and take the necessary steps to mitigate the risk.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-2851
Severity: Critical (CVSS score: 8.0)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
GL.iNet GL-A1300 Slate Plus | 4.x
GL-AR300M16 Shadow | 4.x
GL-B3000 Marble | 4.x
[… further products …]
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from a buffer overflow condition in a specific function of the plugins.so file of the RPC Handler component. Buffer overflow conditions occur when more data is written into a buffer than it is designed to hold. This overflow can then overwrite adjacent memory locations, leading to unpredictable system behavior, including arbitrary code execution, system crashes, or data exposure.
In the case of CVE-2025-2851, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted data to the affected GL.iNet device over the network. If successful, the attacker could execute arbitrary code on the system, leading to system compromise or potential data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
While no specific exploit code is available, a conceptual example of exploiting a buffer overflow vulnerability might look like this:
POST /rpc/handler HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... [long string of "A"s to overflow the buffer]In this example, the attacker sends a long string of “A”s (representing arbitrary data) to the RPC handler endpoint, causing an overflow in the buffer. Note that this is a simplified example, and actual exploit code might be more complex, possibly involving specific payload data designed to trigger specific behavior on the system.