{"id":49708,"date":"2025-06-08T11:54:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T11:54:41","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-07T11:38:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T17:38:01","slug":"cve-2025-20668-critical-out-of-bounds-write-in-scp-leading-to-privilege-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-20668-critical-out-of-bounds-write-in-scp-leading-to-privilege-escalation\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-20668: Critical Out of Bounds Write in scp leading to Privilege Escalation<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a world where cybersecurity has become a significant concern for individuals and businesses alike, keeping track of vulnerabilities and assessing their potential impact is of paramount importance. One such vulnerability recently identified is CVE-2025-20668, a critical flaw in the Secure Copy Protocol (scp), which could potentially lead to local privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects all users of scp, a widely used method of securely transferring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-27010-path-traversal-vulnerability-in-bslthemes-tastyc-leading-to-php-local-file-inclusion\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"55833\">files between a local<\/a> and a remote host. The severity of this flaw cannot be overstated, given the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-7457-macos-authorization-model-exploit-leading-to-potential-mitm-attacks\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"79940\">potential consequences if exploited<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-20668<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical, CVSS score of 7.8<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: System<br \/>\nUser Interaction: None<br \/>\nImpact: Potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-41651-critical-system-compromise-due-to-missing-authentication\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"55907\">system compromise<\/a> or data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-992804118\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>scp | All <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-48481-critical-vulnerability-in-freescout-prior-to-version-1-8-180\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"57212\">versions prior<\/a> to patch ALPS09625562<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The exploit works by taking advantage of an out of bounds write <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5124-critical-vulnerability-in-sony-s-snc-series-cameras-due-to-use-of-default-credentials\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"56458\">vulnerability due<\/a> to a missing bounds check within the scp implementation. An attacker, who has already obtained the System privilege, can use this flaw to write <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31263-critical-memory-handling-vulnerability-could-lead-to-system-compromise-or-data-leakage-in-macos-sequoia-15-4\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"57022\">data beyond the allocated memory<\/a> area. This could potentially overwrite other important data and lead to unexpected behavior, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-5117-wordpress-property-plugin-privilege-escalation-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"55851\">privilege escalation<\/a> and, in worst cases, a system compromise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-521180670\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited. This pseudocode simulates the scenario of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-1274-critical-out-of-bounds-write-vulnerability-in-autodesk-revit\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"57090\">out-of-bounds write<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># Attacker already has System privileges\n$ whoami\nsystem\n# Attempt to copy a crafted file using scp\n$ scp crafted_file user@target:\/path\/to\/destination\n# The crafted_file triggers an out of bounds write in the scp process on the target system<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In this example, `crafted_file` is a specially designed file that, when processed by scp, causes it to write <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-49835-memory-corruption-vulnerability-leading-to-potential-data-leakage-or-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"58406\">data beyond its allocated memory<\/a> space. Please note that this is a simplified representation of the exploit and the actual exploit would likely involve more sophisticated techniques.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch identified as ALPS09625562. In scenarios where applying the patch is not immediately feasible, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is recommended as a temporary mitigation measure. However, these measures do not entirely eliminate the risk, but they can significantly reduce the likelihood of a successful exploit. Users are strongly encouraged to apply the patch as soon as possible to ensure maximum protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview In a world where cybersecurity has become a significant concern for individuals and businesses alike, keeping track of vulnerabilities and assessing their potential impact is of paramount importance. One such vulnerability recently identified is CVE-2025-20668, a critical flaw in the Secure Copy Protocol (scp), which could potentially lead to local privilege escalation. This vulnerability [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[86,76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-49708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-buffer-overflow","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49708"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72372,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49708\/revisions\/72372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=49708"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=49708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}