CVE-2025-23240
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 · uneditedin OpenHarmony v5.0.2 and prior versions allow a local attacker arbitrary code execution in pre-installed apps through out-of-bounds write. This vulnerability can be exploited only in restricted scenarios.
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 · moderate confidenceOpenHarmony v5.0.2 and prior versions contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in pre-installed system applications. A local attacker with access to the device can exploit this memory corruption flaw to achieve arbitrary code execution within the context of the targeted pre-installed app. The 'restricted scenarios' note indicates that some security controls limit but do not fully prevent exploitation.
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>= 4.1.0, <= 5.0.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the OpenHarmony versionCheck the system settings or use the 'getprop' command (if available) to retrieve the OpenHarmony version number. This is typically found under Settings > About Device > Version or via command line tools like 'hidumper -s 0' or 'param get const.product.software.version'.Affected if The installed version falls within the range >= 4.1.0 and <= 5.0.2, indicating the device is running a vulnerable version.
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Confirm the presence of pre-installed system applicationsReview the list of installed applications on the device. Pre-installed system apps are typically located in /system/apps or /preinstall directories, or can be enumerated via application management commands like 'bm dump -a' on OpenHarmony devices.Affected if The device contains pre-installed system applications, which are the specific targets of this vulnerability.
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Verify local physical access conditionsAssess whether the device permits local physical access by unauthorized users. Check if the device is in a secured location, uses screen lock, or has additional authentication barriers preventing direct physical interaction.Affected if The device allows physical access by local attackers, which is required to exploit this vulnerability.
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Review application permission modelExamine the permissions granted to pre-installed system applications. Check if these applications run with elevated privileges or have capabilities that could be leveraged for arbitrary code execution if exploited.Affected if Pre-installed applications possess permissions or capabilities that could be abused to achieve code execution upon successful exploitation.
The environment is affected if the device runs OpenHarmony version 4.1.0 through 5.0.2 and contains pre-installed system applications that could be accessed by a local attacker with physical access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply any available vendor patches for OpenHarmony; if no patch is available, consider restricting local physical access and reviewing the permissions model for pre-installed applications to limit the attack surface.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA5.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23240 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-23240 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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