CVE-2025-4478
Description
A flaw was found in the FreeRDP used by Anaconda's remote install feature, where a crafted RDP packet could trigger a segmentation fault. This issue causes the service to crash and remain defunct, resulting in a denial of service. It occurs pre-boot and is likely due to a NULL pointer dereference. Rebooting is required to recover the system.
Statement
The severity of this issue is assessed as moderate rather than high, primarily because successful exploitation requires the remote installation feature to be explicitly enabled by the system administrator a non-default configuration in most RHEL deployments. The vulnerability arises during a pre-boot phase where a crafted RDP packet can trigger a segmentation fault in gnome-remote-desktop via FreeRDP, leading to a denial of service. While impactful, this scenario is limited to specific use cases, such as unattended remote installations, and does not result in privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
Furthermore, the flaw appears to stem from a null-pointer dereference, which generally results in a crash without introducing broader system compromise. The attack requires network access to the installer at a precise phase of its operation and is constrained by the need for a custom setup (e.g., RDP-based installs). As such, while the vulnerability does impact system availability under targeted conditions, its exploitability is restricted by environmental requirements and lack of persistence post-reboot, thereby reducing its overall risk profile compared to vulnerabilities that enable remote code execution or affect default system behavior.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't 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 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | None | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
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