Overview
In the realm of cybersecurity, vulnerabilities can often lurk in the most unexpected places. One such vulnerability, CVE-2025-50129, is a memory corruption issue found in the PCX Image Decoding functionality of the SAIL Image Decoding Library v0.9.8. Given the widespread usage of this library in various applications that handle image processing, this vulnerability potentially impacts a large number of software systems.
This vulnerability matters because it allows for remote code execution. In other words, a malicious actor could exploit this vulnerability to run arbitrary code on the targeted system. This could lead to system compromise and data leakage, posing a significant security threat to both individuals and organizations that rely on systems using this library.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-50129
Severity: Critical (8.8)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
SAIL Image Decoding Library | v0.9.8
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the PCX Image Decoding functionality of the SAIL Image Decoding Library. When this library decodes image data from a specially crafted .tga file, a heap-based buffer overflow can occur. This buffer overflow can then be exploited by an attacker to perform remote code execution.
The attacker would need to convince the library to read a malicious .tga file to trigger this vulnerability. This could be achieved by various means, such as social engineering techniques to trick users into opening the malicious file.
Conceptual Example Code
While the specifics of the exploit will vary based on the target environment and the attacker’s objectives, a rough pseudocode representation of exploiting the vulnerability might look like this:
# Create malicious TGA file
malicious_tga = create_malicious_tga_file()
# Send the malicious TGA file to the target system
send_file_to_target(malicious_tga, target_system)
# Wait for the target system to open the file, triggering the vulnerability
wait_for_file_to_be_opened(target_system)
# Execute arbitrary code on the target system
execute_remote_code(target_system)In this pseudocode, `create_malicious_tga_file` would generate a .tga file designed to cause a buffer overflow in the SAIL Image Decoding Library. The `send_file_to_target` function would then send this file to the target system, and `wait_for_file_to_be_opened` would wait until the target system opens the file, triggering the vulnerability. Finally, `execute_remote_code` would utilize the buffer overflow to execute arbitrary code on the target system.