CVE-2025-1752
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Denial of Service vulnerability in the run-llama/llama_index project's KnowledgeBaseWebReader class. Attackers can crash Python processes by exploiting improper recursion limit handling in the get_article_urls function. Users of llama_index version ~0.12.15 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- run-llama/llama_index
📦 What is this software?
Llamaindex by Llamaindex
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete service disruption through Python process crashes, potentially affecting multiple services if llama_index is used in critical applications.
Likely Case
Service degradation or temporary unavailability when targeted by DoS attacks, requiring process restarts.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper input validation and recursion limits in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires access to trigger the vulnerable function, which may be exposed through web interfaces or API endpoints.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in commit 3c65db2947271de3bd1927dc66a044da385de4da
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/run-llama/llama_index/commit/3c65db2947271de3bd1927dc66a044da385de4da
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update llama_index to latest version. 2. Restart all Python processes using llama_index. 3. Verify the fix by checking the commit hash includes 3c65db2.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement recursion limit wrapper
allWrap get_article_urls calls with sys.setrecursionlimit() and try/except blocks
import sys
sys.setrecursionlimit(1000)
Disable vulnerable functionality
allTemporarily disable or restrict access to KnowledgeBaseWebReader features
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement rate limiting on endpoints using KnowledgeBaseWebReader
- Deploy behind WAF with DoS protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if using llama_index version ~0.12.15 and if KnowledgeBaseWebReader is imported/usedCheck Version:
pip show llama_index | grep VersionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify commit hash includes 3c65db2947271de3bd1927dc66a044da385de4da📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Python recursion limit errors
- Process crashes with RecursionError
- Unusual repeated calls to web reader endpoints
Network Indicators:
- High volume of requests to KnowledgeBaseWebReader endpoints
- Pattern of requests designed to trigger recursion
SIEM Query:
source="application.logs" AND ("RecursionError" OR "maximum recursion depth exceeded") AND process="python"