Overview
The cybersecurity landscape is a battlefield, with new vulnerabilities being discovered regularly. One such vulnerability, CVE-2025-55118, has emerged in Control-M/Agent, a widely used application in enterprise environments. This vulnerability is of particular concern due to its ability to be remotely triggered, leading to memory corruption when SSL/TLS communication is configured under specific settings. This blog post aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the vulnerability, its potential impact, and the steps necessary for mitigation.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-55118
Severity: High (8.9 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Control-M/Agent | 9.0.20 when SSL/TLS configuration is set to “use_openssl=n”
Control-M/Agent | 9.0.21 and 9.0.22 when Agent router configuration uses “JAVA_AR=N” and “use_openssl=n”
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of a specific configuration within the SSL/TLS communication settings of Control-M/Agent. When the “use_openssl=n” setting is enabled, or when the Agent router has the “JAVA_AR=N” and “use_openssl=n” settings activated, memory corruption can be remotely triggered. This corruption can potentially lead to a full system compromise or data leakage, making it a critical vulnerability that requires immediate attention.
Conceptual Example Code
Although the exact exploit code is not available due to its sensitive nature, a conceptual example would follow this general pattern:
POST /controlM/agent/trigger HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "config_settings": { "use_openssl": "n", "JAVA_AR": "N" },
"payload": "malicious_memory_corruption_code_here" }In this hypothetical exploit, a malicious actor sends a specially crafted payload to the target system. The payload is designed to trigger memory corruption in the Control-M/Agent under the vulnerable configuration.
Mitigation
The most effective way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor’s patch. If the patch cannot be immediately applied, a WAF (Web Application Firewall) or IDS (Intrusion Detection System) can be used as a temporary mitigation method. It is recommended to always keep your systems updated and to regularly monitor and review your system configurations to prevent such vulnerabilities from being exploited.
Stay vigilant, stay secure.
