CVE-2025-1244 – A command injection vulnerability in Emacs allo... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-1244?

CVE-2025-1244 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). A command injection vulnerability in Emacs allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands on vulnerable systems by tricking users into visiting malicious websites or URLs with redirects. This affects users running vulnerable versions of Emacs, particularly those who browse the web or handle untrusted content with the editor.

📋 TL;DR

A command injection vulnerability in Emacs allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands on vulnerable systems by tricking users into visiting malicious websites or URLs with redirects. This affects users running vulnerable versions of Emacs, particularly those who browse the web or handle untrusted content with the editor.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Emacs

Versions: Specific versions not detailed in references; check Red Hat advisories for exact ranges.

Operating Systems: Linux distributions like Red Hat, potentially others if Emacs is installed

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability is present in default configurations where Emacs is used to handle web content or URLs.

⚠️ 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

Full system compromise, enabling attackers to install malware, steal data, or pivot to other systems.

🟠

Likely Case

Local privilege escalation or data theft from the user's environment, depending on user permissions.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if systems are patched, with no exploitation possible; user awareness can reduce risk.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM, as exploitation requires user interaction via web browsing, but remote attackers can initiate attacks.

🏢 Internal Only: LOW, as internal systems are less likely to be targeted via crafted websites, but still possible if users access malicious internal content.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires social engineering to trick users into visiting malicious sites; no authentication needed for the attack vector.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Check Red Hat advisories (e.g., RHSA-2025:1915) for patched versions; typically latest Emacs updates.

Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:1915

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update Emacs using your package manager (e.g., 'sudo yum update emacs' on Red Hat). 2. Verify the update installed successfully. 3. No restart required, but restart Emacs sessions to apply changes.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable web browsing in Emacs

all

Prevent Emacs from handling HTTP/URLs to block the attack vector.

Add '(setq browse-url-browser-function nil)' to your Emacs configuration file (e.g., ~/.emacs).

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict user permissions to limit shell command execution impact.
Use network segmentation to isolate systems running Emacs from untrusted networks.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Emacs version against patched versions in Red Hat advisories; run 'emacs --version' and compare.

Check Version:

emacs --version

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, run 'emacs --version' to confirm version matches patched release from vendor.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual shell command executions from Emacs processes in system logs.

Network Indicators:

Outbound connections from Emacs to unknown IPs, indicating potential command execution.

SIEM Query:

Example: 'process:emacs AND event_type:shell_execution' in SIEM logs.

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-1244

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-78

EPSS Score: 0.21% exploit probability (42.9th percentile)

Published: February 12, 2025

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

If you're affected by CVE-2025-1244, you might also want to check these: