CVE-2025-52581: Integer Overflow Vulnerability in The Biosig Project libbiosig Leading to Arbitrary Code Execution

Overview

The Biosig Project libbiosig, a popular library used for biomedical signal processing and file conversion, has been revealed to have a critical vulnerability that could potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-52581, exists in the GDF parsing functionality of libbiosig 3.9.0 and Master Branch (35a819fa). This vulnerability is a serious threat to any system or application that relies on libbiosig for processing bio-signal data. If exploited, an attacker could execute arbitrary code, potentially compromising the entire system.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-52581
Severity: Critical, CVSS Score – 9.8
Attack Vector: File
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

The Biosig Project libbiosig | 3.9.0 and Master Branch (35a819fa)

How the Exploit Works

This vulnerability exists due to an integer overflow in the GDF parsing functionality of libbiosig. An attacker can exploit this issue by crafting a malicious GDF file that causes the overflow when processed. Once the overflow occurs, it can corrupt the memory, leading to arbitrary code execution. This essentially means the attacker can run any code they want on the affected system, potentially gaining full control over it.

Conceptual Example Code

The following pseudocode illustrates how an attacker might craft a malicious GDF file to exploit the vulnerability:

# Pseudocode to create a malicious GDF file
# Open a new GDF file
file = open('malicious.gdf', 'wb')
# Write a specially crafted header to cause integer overflow
file.write(b'\x00' * 1000000000)
# Write arbitrary code that will be executed due to the overflow
file.write(b'\x90' * 100 + b'\xCC')
file.close()

This code creates a GDF file with a header that’s large enough to cause an integer overflow when parsed by the vulnerable libbiosig library. The arbitrary code (represented by ‘\x90’ * 100 + ‘\xCC’) would then be executed.
Remember, this is a simplified conceptual example. In a real scenario, the arbitrary code would be carefully crafted to perform specific actions like creating a backdoor or exfiltrating data.

Mitigation

The best way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch as soon as it is available. Until then, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can help to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. It’s also recommended to validate and sanitize all GDF files before processing them, to prevent potential attacks.