CVE-2025-0283 in Connect Secure
Summary
by MITRE • 01/09/2025
A stack-based buffer overflow in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.5, Ivanti Policy Secure before version 22.7R1.2, and Ivanti Neurons for ZTA gateways before version 22.7R2.3 allows a local authenticated attacker to escalate their privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/09/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-0283 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow affecting multiple Ivanti security products including Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and Neurons for ZTA gateways. This flaw exists in versions prior to the specified patches, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on these platforms for network security operations. The vulnerability specifically targets the privilege escalation mechanisms within these products, allowing authenticated local attackers to gain elevated system privileges through carefully crafted input that overflows stack memory buffers.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within the affected Ivanti products. When authenticated users execute specific operations that process user-supplied data, the software fails to properly bounds-check array accesses or string operations, leading to memory corruption in the stack region. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-121 stack-based buffer overflow classification, where insufficient checks on buffer boundaries enable attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations including return addresses, function pointers, or other critical control data structures. The stack-based nature of this flaw means that the overflow occurs in the program's stack memory space, which is typically used for function call management and local variable storage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with potential access to sensitive system resources and data within the affected environments. Local authenticated attackers who can exploit this vulnerability may gain root or administrator level privileges on the target systems, enabling them to modify security policies, access confidential information, or establish persistent backdoors. This risk is particularly concerning for security infrastructure products like those mentioned in the vulnerability description, as they often serve as critical control points for network security enforcement and policy management. The vulnerability creates a pathway for attackers to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of security operations, potentially undermining the entire security posture of organizations relying on these platforms.
Organizations must prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability by upgrading to the patched versions specified in the CVE description for each affected product line. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive vulnerability scanning to identify all affected systems within the enterprise environment, followed by coordinated patch deployment across all impacted instances. Security teams should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit local authentication capabilities where possible, reducing the attack surface for this particular exploit. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious privilege escalation activities and anomalous user behavior should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 for local privilege escalation and may also map to T1548 for abuse of elevation privileges, making it particularly relevant for security operations centers to include in their threat hunting and incident response procedures.