CVE-2025-1864 in Radare2
Summary
by MITRE • 03/03/2025
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in radareorg radare2 allows Overflow Buffers.This issue affects radare2: before <5.9.9.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/01/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-1864 represents a critical memory safety issue within the radare2 reverse engineering framework that manifests as an improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer. This flaw falls under the well-established CWE-121 category of buffer overflow conditions, where the software fails to properly validate or limit the size of data operations that can occur within allocated memory regions. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions of radare2 prior to 5.9.9, indicating that this represents a long-standing issue that has persisted across multiple releases, suggesting inadequate input validation mechanisms within the software's memory management subsystem. The affected component appears to be a core memory buffer handling function that processes data structures during binary analysis operations, where insufficient bounds checking allows maliciously crafted input to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory corruption, as it creates potential attack vectors that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions. When radare2 processes malformed binary data or corrupted input files, the unchecked buffer operations can overwrite critical memory segments including function return addresses, stack canaries, or other control data structures. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, where an attacker could potentially leverage the buffer overflow to inject and execute malicious code within the application context. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in the context of reverse engineering tools where users often process untrusted binary files from unknown sources, making the attack surface more expansive than typical applications.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-1864 should prioritize immediate version upgrades to radare2 5.9.9 or later, as this represents the most effective defense against exploitation of the buffer overflow condition. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all instances of radare2 are updated to versions that contain the necessary bounds checking fixes. Additional defensive measures include implementing strict input validation for all binary data processing operations, utilizing memory safety features such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and control flow integrity mechanisms. Security teams should also consider deploying runtime monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous memory access patterns or buffer overflow attempts during normal operation. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices in development and analysis tools, particularly those handling potentially malicious binary content, as the consequences of exploitation can extend beyond simple application compromise to full system compromise.