{"id":59587,"date":"2025-07-23T13:48:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T13:48:28","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-07T11:38:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T17:38:51","slug":"cve-2025-53964-critical-file-manipulation-vulnerability-in-goldendict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-53964-critical-file-manipulation-vulnerability-in-goldendict\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-53964: Critical File Manipulation Vulnerability in GoldenDict<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The CVE-2025-53964 is a major security vulnerability discovered in GoldenDict versions 1.5.0 and 1.5.1. This vulnerability revolves around an exposed dangerous method that could potentially allow unauthorized access to read and modify files when a user adds a maliciously crafted dictionary and performs a search for any term within that dictionary. This exploit can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-7027-critical-firmware-vulnerability-enabling-arbitrary-memory-writes-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70469\">lead to severe consequences like system<\/a> compromise or data leakage. Given the severity and the potential impact of this vulnerability, it is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-50067-critical-vulnerability-in-oracle-application-express-allowing-system-takeover\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"67265\">critical for system<\/a> and network administrators to understand the nuances and take appropriate measures to mitigate the risks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-53964<br \/>\nSeverity: Critical (9.6 CVSS Severity Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52808-a-critical-php-remote-file-inclusion-vulnerability-in-realtyelite\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"65876\">file inclusion<\/a> (LFI)<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: User level<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-31278-memory-corruption-vulnerability-with-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70467\">System compromise and potential<\/a> data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3867074471\" 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>GoldenDict | 1.5.0, 1.5.1<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The exploit leverages an exposed method within GoldenDict that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-41666-watchdog-file-replacement-vulnerability-allowing-remote-access-and-control\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"66670\">allows for the reading and modifying of files<\/a>. The attacker crafts a dictionary with malicious content and induces a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-50738-memos-application-vulnerability-allows-for-unauthorized-user-information-disclosure\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70468\">user to add this dictionary to their GoldenDict application<\/a>. When the user searches for any term within this crafted dictionary, the exposed method is exploited, enabling the attacker to read and modify <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-27614-a-high-risk-gitk-vulnerability-enabling-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"70466\">files<\/a> on the system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-75372442\" 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>A hypothetical example of how this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-49526-out-of-bounds-write-vulnerability-in-illustrator-leading-to-arbitrary-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"75182\">vulnerability could be exploited is illustrated<\/a> below. It&#8217;s a shell command that demonstrates the addition of a malicious dictionary and a subsequent <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/pseudopod\"   title=\"search\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90958\">search<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># Adding the maliciously crafted dictionary\n$ goldendict --add-dictionary \/path\/to\/malicious_dictionary.dz\n# Searching for a term within the crafted dictionary\n$ goldendict --search &quot;malicious_term&quot;<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>The above commands are purely conceptual and serve to illustrate the point. In an actual attack scenario, the malicious dictionary could contain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54444-unrestricted-file-upload-leading-to-code-injection-in-samsung-electronics-magicinfo-9-server\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"67264\">code that exploits the exposed method to manipulate files<\/a> on the user&#8217;s system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To mitigate the risks associated with CVE-2025-53964, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the interim, the use of a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation strategies. Regular monitoring of system logs and network traffic can also help in early detection of any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-7457-macos-authorization-model-exploit-leading-to-potential-mitm-attacks\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"80093\">potential exploitation<\/a> attempts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview The CVE-2025-53964 is a major security vulnerability discovered in GoldenDict versions 1.5.0 and 1.5.1. This vulnerability revolves around an exposed dangerous method that could potentially allow unauthorized access to read and modify files when a user adds a maliciously crafted dictionary and performs a search for any term within that dictionary. This exploit can [&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":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-59587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59587","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=59587"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83914,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59587\/revisions\/83914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=59587"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=59587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}