CVE-2025-59378VulnerabilityPublished 15 Sep 2025

CVE-2025-59378: GNU Guix · Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres

Affects GNU GuixSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.7 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.7Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GNU Guix	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict local user access to systems running GNU Guix, enforcing strict access controls and monitoring for unauthorized file modifications, particularly to the content-addressed-mirrors file. 2) Employ mandatory access control (MAC) frameworks such as SELinux or AppArmor to limit the ability of unprivileged users to create or modify setuid binaries within the guix-daemon environment. 3) Monitor build user activities and audit file system changes related to guix-daemon to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 4) Isolate build environments using containerization or virtualization to contain potential privilege escalations. 5) Stay alert for official patches or updates from GNU Guix and apply them promptly once available. 6) Implement robust endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying suspicious privilege escalation patterns. 7) Educate system administrators and developers about this vulnerability to ensure awareness and prompt response to suspicious activities. These measures go beyond generic patching advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and environment isolation tailored to the specific exploitation vector of this vulnerability.

Description

In guix-daemon in GNU Guix before 1618ca7, a content-addressed-mirrors file can be written to create a setuid program that allows a regular user to gain the privileges of the build user that runs it (even after the build has ended).

Impact

For European organizations using GNU Guix, especially those relying on it for package management and software deployment in development or production environments, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. The ability for a local user to escalate privileges to the build user can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive build environments, potentially exposing proprietary source code, build configurations, or credentials. This can undermine the integrity of software supply chains, which is a critical concern in Europe given the emphasis on secure software development and compliance with regulations such as the EU Cybersecurity Act and NIS Directive. While the vulnerability requires local access, insider threats or compromised user accounts could exploit this flaw to gain elevated privileges, facilitating further lateral movement or persistence within organizational networks. The lack of availability impact reduces the risk of service disruption, but the confidentiality and integrity risks remain significant, especially for organizations handling sensitive or regulated data.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Sep 2025, 05:47 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-669

Technical details

References

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