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CVE-2025-32909: NULL Pointer Dereference

Medium
VulnerabilityCVE-2025-32909cvecve-2025-32909
Published: Mon Apr 14 2025 (04/14/2025, 14:42:26 UTC)
Source: CVE

Description

A flaw was found in libsoup. SoupContentSniffer may be vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference in the sniff_mp4 function. The HTTP server may cause the libsoup client to crash.

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 07/30/2025, 00:44:14 UTC

Technical Analysis

CVE-2025-32909 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in libsoup, a GNOME HTTP client/server library widely used in Linux-based systems and applications for HTTP communication. The flaw exists in the SoupContentSniffer component, specifically within the sniff_mp4 function. This function is responsible for detecting MP4 content types in HTTP responses. The vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference, which occurs when the code attempts to access or dereference a pointer that has not been properly initialized or has been set to NULL. This can lead to a crash of the libsoup client, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability can be triggered remotely by an attacker controlling an HTTP server that responds with crafted content, causing the client using libsoup to crash without requiring any authentication or user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting that the attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts availability only (A:L) without affecting confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or vendor advisories have been linked yet. The vulnerability affects version "0" as per the provided data, which likely indicates an unspecified or initial version needing clarification from vendors or maintainers.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability primarily involves potential denial of service conditions in applications or services relying on libsoup for HTTP communications. This could affect desktop environments, embedded systems, or server-side applications using libsoup to process HTTP responses, especially those handling media content like MP4 files. A successful exploitation could disrupt business operations by crashing client applications, leading to service interruptions, degraded user experience, or automated system failures. While the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, availability impacts can be significant in environments where continuous HTTP client operation is critical. Industries such as media streaming, telecommunications, and software development that utilize GNOME or libsoup-based components may be particularly affected. Additionally, the lack of required authentication or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing the risk of automated or large-scale attacks targeting vulnerable clients.

Mitigation Recommendations

To mitigate CVE-2025-32909, European organizations should: 1) Monitor official GNOME and libsoup repositories for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 2) Implement network-level protections such as web content filtering and intrusion detection systems to detect and block malicious HTTP responses that could trigger the NULL pointer dereference. 3) Where feasible, isolate or sandbox applications using libsoup to limit the impact of crashes and prevent cascading failures. 4) Conduct code audits and testing for custom applications integrating libsoup to identify and handle potential NULL pointer dereferences gracefully. 5) Employ robust error handling and recovery mechanisms in client applications to mitigate service disruption. 6) Educate developers and system administrators about the vulnerability to ensure timely response and awareness. 7) Consider alternative HTTP client libraries if immediate patching is not possible and the risk is high.

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Technical Details

Data Version
5.1
Assigner Short Name
redhat
Date Reserved
2025-04-14T01:59:13.827Z
Cisa Enriched
true
Cvss Version
3.1
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 682d9819c4522896dcbd89c3

Added to database: 5/21/2025, 9:08:41 AM

Last enriched: 7/30/2025, 12:44:14 AM

Last updated: 8/5/2025, 12:34:51 AM

Views: 12

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