CVE-2024-25262 – A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-25262?

CVE-2024-25262 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (HIGH). A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in texlive-bin's ttfdump tool via the ttfLoadHDMX function. Attackers can exploit this by providing a specially crafted TTF file, causing a Denial of Service (DoS) crash. Systems using texlive-bin with ttfdump to process TTF files are affected.

📋 TL;DR

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in texlive-bin's ttfdump tool via the ttfLoadHDMX function. Attackers can exploit this by providing a specially crafted TTF file, causing a Denial of Service (DoS) crash. Systems using texlive-bin with ttfdump to process TTF files are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

texlive-bin
ttfdump

Versions: Versions before commit c515e (specifically before revision 69605 in the ChangeLog)

Operating Systems: Linux, Unix-like systems (including Ubuntu, Debian)

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability is triggered when ttfdump processes TTF files; systems not using ttfdump or not processing TTF files are not affected.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:

Review the CVE details at NVD
Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system crash or service disruption of applications using ttfdump, potentially leading to data loss or extended downtime.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash when processing malicious TTF files, causing temporary DoS for services relying on ttfdump functionality.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper input validation and sandboxing; isolated crashes without privilege escalation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Only affects systems that accept and process TTF files from untrusted sources via ttfdump.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Requires local file processing or internal user interaction with malicious TTF files.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW - Requires crafting a malicious TTF file and getting it processed by ttfdump.

Exploitation requires the attacker to supply a crafted TTF file that is processed by the vulnerable function; no authentication is needed for file processing itself.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Commit c515e or later (revision 69605 in ChangeLog)

Vendor Advisory: https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/10/msg00032.html

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update texlive-bin package using your distribution's package manager. 2. For Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade texlive-bin. 3. Verify the update installed version with commit c515e or later.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict TTF file processing

linux

Limit or disable ttfdump usage for processing untrusted TTF files to reduce attack surface.

sudo chmod -x /usr/bin/ttfdump
sudo mv /usr/bin/ttfdump /usr/bin/ttfdump.disabled

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict input validation: Only allow trusted TTF files to be processed by ttfdump.
Use sandboxing or containerization to isolate ttfdump processes and limit impact of crashes.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if ttfdump is installed and its version: dpkg -l | grep texlive-bin or rpm -qa | grep texlive-bin.

Check Version:

ttfdump --version or dpkg -s texlive-bin | grep Version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify the installed version includes commit c515e: check package changelog or version string against patched versions.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes or segmentation faults in logs when processing TTF files
Unexpected termination of ttfdump processes

Network Indicators:

Unusual file uploads of TTF files to systems using ttfdump

SIEM Query:

Process:ttfdump AND (EventID:1000 OR Signal:SIGSEGV)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-25262

CVSS v3 Score: 8.1 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-122

Published: February 29, 2024

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

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