CVE-2025-5915
Description
A vulnerability has been identified in the libarchive library. This flaw can lead to a heap buffer over-read due to the size of a filter block potentially exceeding the Lempel-Ziv-Storer-Schieber (LZSS) window. This means the library may attempt to read beyond the allocated memory buffer, which can result in unpredictable program behavior, crashes (denial of service), or the disclosure of sensitive information from adjacent memory regions.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated Low for Red Hat products. The heap buffer over-read in libarchive occurs when processing specially crafted RAR archives. Exploitation requires user interaction, such as opening a malicious RAR file, which could lead to application crashes or information disclosure.
Mitigation
Upgrade to libarchive version 3.8.0 or later, which includes important security fixes and stability improvements.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.6 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | Low |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)
Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism; Modify Memory
Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy. Besides important user data, heap-based overflows can be used to overwrite function pointers that may be living in memory, pointing it to the attacker's code. Even in applications that do not explicitly use function pointers, the run-time will usually leave many in memory. For example, object methods in C++ are generally implemented using function pointers. Even in C programs, there is often a global offset table used by the underlying runtime.
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control,Other
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism; Other
When the consequence is arbitrary code execution, this can often be used to subvert any other security service.
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