CVE-2025-41666
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 · uneditedA low privileged remote attacker with file access can replace a critical file used by the watchdog to get read, write and execute access to any file on the device after the watchdog has been initialized.
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 confidenceA file replacement vulnerability exists where a low-privileged attacker with file access can replace a critical file used by the watchdog system. Once the watchdog initializes and uses this compromised file, the attacker gains read, write, and execute access to any file on the device.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 watchdog system and its critical filesLocate watchdog-related processes and configuration files. Common locations include /etc/watchdog.conf, /var/log/watchdog, /usr/sbin/watchdog, or proprietary watchdog binaries. Check process list for watchdog-related processes running on the system.Affected if The system runs any watchdog service and critical watchdog files are found in user-accessible locations.
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Review file permissions on watchdog critical filesUse 'ls -la' on identified watchdog binaries, config files, and related scripts. Check if files are owned by root and have restrictive permissions (644 or stricter for configs, 755 for binaries). Look for world-writable or group-writable flags.Affected if Any watchdog critical file (binary, config, or script) has permissions allowing modification by non-root users.
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Check if watchdog files reside in user-writable directoriesExamine the directory path of watchdog files. Directories like /tmp, /var/tmp, or user home directories should not contain watchdog executables or config files. Use 'ls -la' on parent directories of watchdog files.Affected if Watchdog critical files are stored in directories that are writable by low-privileged users.
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Verify file integrity of watchdog componentsCompare current file hashes (md5sum, sha256sum) of watchdog binaries and config files against known good values if available. Alternatively, check file timestamps for unexpected modifications using 'stat' on watchdog files.Affected if Watchdog files show unexpected modification timestamps or have been altered from their expected state.
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Audit file system access controls on watchdog pathsReview ACLs or extended attributes on watchdog directories. Check /etc/permissions, /etc/acl, or use 'getfacl' on watchdog directories to verify only privileged users can modify these paths.Affected if ACLs or extended attributes allow non-root users write access to watchdog directories or files.
A system is affected if it runs a watchdog service with critical files located in directories writable by low-privileged users, as this enables the file replacement attack described in the CVE.
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 dataImplement strict file permissions on watchdog-critical files, store these files in immutable or non-writable locations, add file integrity validation/checksums before watchdog execution, and use secure file paths that are not user-writable.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-41666 — 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-2025-41666 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
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