Out-of-bounds Read in C-Ares

CVE-2024-25629

c-ares is a C library for asynchronous DNS requests. `ares__read_line()` is used to parse local configuration files such as `/etc/resolv.conf`, `/etc/nsswitch.conf`, the `HOSTALIASES` file, and if using a c-ares version prior to 1.27.0, the `/etc/hosts` file. If any of these configuration files has an embedded `NULL` character as the first character in a new line, it can lead to attempting to read memory prior to the start of the given buffer which may result in a crash. This issue is fixed in c-ares 1.27.0. No known workarounds exist.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 4.4 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (27.2th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 27th percentile — 27.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2024-25629: held from 0.004 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-25629?
CVE-2024-25629 is a medium-severity vulnerability in C-Ares, classified under Buffer Under-read. CVSS score: 4.4/10. Published 2024-02-23.
How severe is CVE-2024-25629?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 4.4 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-25629 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.