CVE-2025-14178
Description
A flaw was found in PHP. A heap-based buffer overflow occurs in the array_merge function when the total element count of packed arrays exceeds the 32-bit limit or the internal HT_MAX_SIZE due to an integer overflow in the precomputation of element counts using the zend_hash_num_elements function, causing a process crash and potentially memory corruption.
Statement
To exploit this issue, an attacker must be able to pass arrays to array_merge() containing a very large number of elements, specifically the total element count must exceed the 32-bit integer limit or the internal HT_MAX_SIZE constant. Creating such a massive array often triggers the memory limit of PHP and the system, causing an out-of-memory condition before the buffer overflow can be triggered, increasing the complexity of exploitation.
Also, default Red Hat Enterprise Linux security features, including SELinux enforcement, Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and memory protections significantly increase the difficult of achieving arbitrary code execution, limiting the impact of this vulnerability.
Due to these reasons, this flaw has been rated with a moderate severity.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | 8.2 | 6.5 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | High |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | None | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | Low | Low |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
See the 'Statement' section for an explanation of the difference between the CVSS from Red Hat and NVD, specifically why the attack complexity metric is set to high.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Write operations could cause memory corruption. In some cases, an adversary can modify control data such as return addresses in order to execute unexpected code.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Attempting to access out-of-range, invalid, or unauthorized memory could cause the product to crash.
Other
Technical Impact: Unexpected State
Subsequent write operations can produce undefined or unexpected results.
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