CVE-2025-14549 in OMR
Summary
by MITRE • 12/15/2025
In the Eclipse OMR compiler component, since release 0.7.0, an optimization enabled for Eclipse OpenJ9 consumers of OMR on Z processors incorrectly handles NUL (0x00) characters during the Latin-compatible charset (UTF-8, ISO8859-1, ASCII, etc) to IBM-1047/037 translation sequence. This can cause the output byte array to be truncated, discarding the first NUL byte and all subsequent characters, and thereby exposing a possible buffer over-read problem. This issue is fixed in Eclipse OMR version 0.8.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-14549 resides within the Eclipse OMR compiler component, specifically affecting consumers utilizing Eclipse OpenJ9 on IBM Z processors. This flaw emerged in release 0.7.0 and represents a critical issue in character encoding translation processes that impacts the integrity of string data handling. The problem manifests during the conversion between Latin-compatible character sets including UTF-8, ISO8859-1, and ASCII to IBM-1047/037 encoding formats, which are essential for proper text processing in mainframe environments.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of null characters during the charset translation sequence within the compiler's optimization routines. When encountering NUL bytes (0x00) in the input character stream, the optimization logic incorrectly processes these characters by truncating the output byte array. This truncation behavior results in the immediate discarding of the first NUL byte along with all subsequent characters in the sequence, effectively corrupting the data stream. The mechanism responsible for this behavior operates at the compiler optimization level, where performance enhancements inadvertently introduce data integrity issues through flawed character processing algorithms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption, presenting potential security risks through buffer over-read conditions that could be exploited by malicious actors. When the compiler processes strings containing null characters, the truncated output creates an inconsistent data representation that may lead to unexpected program behavior, application crashes, or potentially provide attack vectors for privilege escalation. The issue particularly affects applications running on IBM Z architecture that rely on Eclipse OpenJ9 for Java runtime execution, making it a significant concern for enterprise environments where mainframe systems process sensitive data. The vulnerability's exploitation could result in information disclosure or denial of service conditions depending on how the corrupted data is subsequently processed by applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-14549 involve immediate upgrading to Eclipse OMR version 0.8.0, which contains the necessary fixes to address the charset translation handling. Organizations should conduct thorough testing of their applications after applying the update to ensure no regressions in character encoding behavior occur. System administrators should also implement monitoring for unusual application behavior or crashes that might indicate the vulnerability's impact. The fix addresses the underlying issue through corrected optimization routines that properly handle null character sequences without truncating output arrays, aligning with security best practices for encoding translation processes. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of careful optimization in compiler components and the potential security implications of seemingly benign data processing operations.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of length of input buffers, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for application layer execution. The issue represents a classic example of how performance optimizations can introduce security flaws, particularly in low-level system components that handle data transformation processes. The fix implemented in version 0.8.0 demonstrates proper input validation and buffer handling practices that prevent the truncation behavior while maintaining the intended performance optimizations for legitimate use cases.