NASA CryptoLib up to 1.3.3 Crypto_TC_Prep_AAD out-of-bounds

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in NASA CryptoLib up to 1.3.3. This affects the function Crypto_TC_Prep_AAD. Such manipulation leads to out-of-bounds. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-29913. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in NASA CryptoLib up to 1.3.3. Affected by this issue is the function Crypto_TC_Prep_AAD. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-125. The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

CryptoLib provides a software-only solution using the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol - Extended Procedures (SDLS-EP) to secure communications between a spacecraft running the core Flight System (cFS) and a ground station. A critical heap buffer overflow vulnerability was identified in the `Crypto_TC_Prep_AAD` function of CryptoLib versions 1.3.3 and prior. This vulnerability allows an attacker to trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) or potentially execute arbitrary code (RCE) by providing a maliciously crafted telecommand (TC) frame that causes an unsigned integer underflow. The vulnerability lies in the function `Crypto_TC_Prep_AAD`, specifically during the computation of `tc_mac_start_index`. The affected code incorrectly calculates the MAC start index without ensuring it remains within the bounds of the `ingest` buffer. When `tc_mac_start_index` underflows due to an incorrect length calculation, the function attempts to access an out-of-bounds memory location, leading to a segmentation fault. The vulnerability is still present in the repository as of commit `d3cc420ace96d02a5b7e83d88cbd2e48010d5723`.

The advisory is shared for download at github.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-29913 since 03/12/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 03/18/2025).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• NASA

Name

• CryptoLib

Version

• 1.3.0
• 1.3.1
• 1.3.2
• 1.3.3

Website

• Product: https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/

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