CVE-2025-45479 in challenges
Summary
by MITRE • 07/07/2025
Insufficient security mechanisms for created containers in educoder challenges v1.0 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code via injecting crafted content into a container.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-45479 affects educoder challenges version 1.0 and represents a critical security flaw in container isolation mechanisms. This issue stems from inadequate security controls during container creation processes, creating a pathway for malicious actors to compromise the underlying system through containerized environments. The vulnerability specifically targets the container security model implemented by the educoder platform, which is designed to provide isolated execution environments for coding challenges and educational exercises.
The technical flaw manifests through insufficient sandboxing controls that fail to properly validate and sanitize content injected into containerized environments. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious content that, when processed within the container, bypasses established security boundaries. This allows unauthorized code execution within the container context, potentially enabling privilege escalation or lateral movement within the system. The vulnerability directly relates to CWE-250, which addresses execution of unauthorized code, and CWE-78, covering improper neutralization of special elements used in OS commands. The flaw essentially creates a trust boundary violation where the container environment fails to maintain proper isolation from the host system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it can enable attackers to access sensitive system resources, manipulate educational content, and potentially compromise the entire platform infrastructure. In educational settings, this represents a significant risk to student data privacy and institutional security. The vulnerability allows for privilege escalation attacks that could enable attackers to gain root access to the container host or access other containers running on the same system. This creates a potential for widespread compromise within environments where multiple users share containerized execution environments, particularly in shared hosting scenarios or cloud deployments.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust container security controls including proper input validation, mandatory access controls, and strict container runtime policies. Organizations should deploy container image scanning tools and implement security monitoring to detect anomalous behavior patterns. The use of non-root user containers, read-only filesystems, and resource limits can significantly reduce the attack surface. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and using container orchestration platforms with built-in security features such as kubernetes pod security policies or docker security options can help contain potential breaches. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in containerized environments. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1078.004 for valid accounts, demonstrating how container escape techniques can be leveraged for persistent access within compromised environments.