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Openshift Container PlatformApplication · Redhat

CVE-2025-0678

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.12 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A flaw was found in grub2. When reading data from a squash4 filesystem, grub's squash4 fs module uses user-controlled parameters from the filesystem geometry to determine the internal buffer size, however, it improperly checks for integer overflows. A maliciously crafted filesystem may lead some of those buffer size calculations to overflow, causing it to perform a grub_malloc() operation with a smaller size than expected. As a result, the direct_read() will perform a heap based out-of-bounds write during data reading. This flaw may be leveraged to corrupt grub's internal critical data and may result in arbitrary code execution, by-passing secure boot protections.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Integer overflow vulnerability in grub2's squash4 filesystem module where user-controlled parameters from filesystem geometry are used to calculate buffer sizes without proper overflow validation. This causes grub_malloc() to allocate smaller buffers than required, leading to heap-based out-of-bounds writes during direct_read() operations that can be exploited for arbitrary code execution and Secure Boot bypass.

MitigationUpdate grub2 to a patched version that includes proper integer overflow checks in the squash4 module before buffer allocation. Ensure any updated grub2 binaries are properly signed for Secure Boot environments.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Openshift Container PlatformApplication
Affected:= 4.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0
Grub2Application
Affected:<= 2.12

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify grub2 version
    Run 'grub2-install --version' or check the package version using 'rpm -q grub2' (RHEL) or 'dpkg -l | grep grub' (Debian). Compare the output version number to the affected range (<=2.12).
    Affected if The installed grub2 version is 2.12 or lower.
  2. Verify squash4 module availability
    List the grub modules directory (typically /boot/grub2/i386-pc/ or /boot/efi/EFI/*/fonts/) and check if 'squash4.mod' exists. Also run 'grub2-mkconfig --version' to confirm grub installation.
    Affected if The squash4 module file is present in the grub modules directory.
  3. Check for squash4 filesystem usage
    Examine /boot/grub2/grub.cfg for menuentry lines referencing '.squashfs' or use 'lsinitrd' to inspect initramfs images for squashfs files. Also check any custom grub.cfg for direct_read operations or squash4 references.
    Affected if Squash4-based filesystems (common in live CDs, embedded systems, container images) are used in the boot configuration.
  4. Determine Secure Boot status
    Check if UEFI Secure Boot is enabled on the system using 'mokutil --sb-state' or by inspecting the firmware/BIOS settings. Also check if the system relies on signed grub binaries.
    Affected if Secure Boot is enabled and the system uses grub2 for booting, making this vulnerability exploitable for Secure Boot bypass.
  5. Inspect grub configuration for direct_read usage
    Review any custom grub scripts or configurations that may invoke the squash4 module directly via 'insmod squash4' or access squashfs partitions during boot.
    Affected if The grub configuration explicitly loads the squash4 module or mounts squashfs partitions at boot time.

The environment is affected if grub2 version 2.12 or lower is installed, the squash4 module is present and loaded by the boot configuration, and the system boots from or accesses squashfs-based filesystems.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.12
Interim mitigation

Update grub2 to a patched version that includes proper integer overflow checks in the squash4 module before buffer allocation. Ensure any updated grub2 binaries are properly signed for Secure Boot environments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

grub2 version greater than 2.12 (consult Red Hat errata for exact fixed version)

  1. 1. Identify the grub2 package version currently installed on the system using: `rpm -q grub2` or `dnf list installed grub2*`
  2. 2. Update the system package repository to ensure access to the latest security patches: `dnf check-update` or `yum check-update`
  3. 3. Apply the grub2 security update: `dnf update grub2` or `yum update grub2`
  4. 4. After updating the grub2 package, reinstall GRUB to the boot disk to ensure the vulnerable bootloader is replaced: `grub2-install /dev/sdX` (replace /dev/sdX with the appropriate boot device)
  5. 5. Verify the installed grub2 version is greater than 2.12 using: `grub2-install --version` or checking the RPM version
Caveat grub2 updates may require regenerating boot configuration and reinstalling to MBR/EFI; test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openshift Container Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,360
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-0678 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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