GRUB UDF FS Module Heap Overflow: Code Exec bypass Secure Boot
CVE-2025-0689 Published on March 3, 2025
Grub2: udf: heap based buffer overflow in grub_udf_read_block() may lead to arbitrary code execution
When reading data from disk, the grub's UDF filesystem module utilizes the user controlled data length metadata to allocate its internal buffers. In certain scenarios, while iterating through disk sectors, it assumes the read size from the disk is always smaller than the allocated buffer size which is not guaranteed. A crafted filesystem image may lead to a heap-based buffer overflow resulting in critical data to be corrupted, resulting in the risk of arbitrary code execution by-passing secure boot protections.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-0689 can be exploited with local system access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public. 1 day later.
Weakness Type
What is a Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability?
The program copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. A buffer overflow condition exists when a program attempts to put more data in a buffer than it can hold, or when a program attempts to put data in a memory area outside of the boundaries of a buffer. The simplest type of error, and the most common cause of buffer overflows, is the "classic" case in which the program copies the buffer without restricting how much is copied. Other variants exist, but the existence of a classic overflow strongly suggests that the programmer is not considering even the most basic of security protections.
CVE-2025-0689 has been classified to as a Classic Buffer Overflow vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-0689
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Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.