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LibbiosigApplication · Libbiosig Project

CVE-2025-54486

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.9.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges 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 stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the MFER parsing functionality of The Biosig Project libbiosig 3.9.0 and Master Branch (35a819fa). A specially crafted MFER file can lead to arbitrary code execution. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.This vulnerability manifests on line 8824 of biosig.c on the current master branch (35a819fa), when the Tag is 11: else if (tag==11) //0x0B { // Fs if (len>6) fprintf(stderr,"Warning MFER tag11 incorrect length %i>6\n",len); double fval; curPos += ifread(buf,1,len,hdr);

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

A stack-based buffer overflow exists in libbiosig's MFER file parsing at biosig.c line 8824. When processing MFER files with Tag 11, the code reads data using ifread(buf,1,len,hdr) where attacker-controlled len can exceed the allocated buffer size (likely 6 bytes based on the warning message), leading to stack corruption and arbitrary code execution.

MitigationImplement strict bounds validation on the len parameter before the ifread call to ensure it does not exceed the buffer size. Validate MFER file structure and reject files with malformed tags or lengths.

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
LibbiosigApplication
Affected:< 3.9.1

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 libbiosig installation and version
    Run 'pkg-config --modversion libbiosig' or check for libbiosig in installed packages. Also check for biosig.h header and its version macros if available.
    Affected if libbiosig version is found and is less than 3.9.1
  2. Locate biosig.c source file
    Search for biosig.c in the source tree: 'find . -name biosig.c -type f' and check the file for line 8824 or the ifread call related to Tag 11 and MFER parsing.
    Affected if biosig.c exists with the vulnerable code at approximately line 8824 handling MFER Tag 11
  3. Verify MFER file format support is present
    Check if the binary/library has MFER support compiled in. Look for 'MFER' in symbols: 'nm -C libbiosig.so 2>/dev/null | grep -i mfer' or check build configuration for MFER-enabled features.
    Affected if MFER parsing functionality is present and linked into the library or application
  4. Check for MFER file processing in your environment
    Search for files with .mfer extension or examine any applications using libbiosig that accept MFER input. Review any file upload or import paths that may process MFER files.
    Affected if MFER files are processed or accepted by any application using libbiosig

You are affected if libbiosig version is below 3.9.1 AND your environment processes MFER files (especially those containing Tag 11) using the vulnerable code path.

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 3.9.1 or later
Fixed in 3.9.1
Interim mitigation

Implement strict bounds validation on the len parameter before the ifread call to ensure it does not exceed the buffer size. Validate MFER file structure and reject files with malformed tags or lengths.

Recommended fix High confidence

Libbiosig 3.9.1

  1. Identify all systems and applications using libbiosig version less than 3.9.1
  2. Obtain libbiosig version 3.9.1 or later from the official Biosig Project repository
  3. Replace the vulnerable libbiosig library files with the updated version 3.9.1
  4. Rebuild any applications that statically or dynamically link against libbiosig
  5. Validate that the MFER file parsing functionality works correctly with the updated library

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

Fix this in Libbiosig Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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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-2025-54486 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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