CVE-2025-29909
📋 TL;DR
A heap buffer overflow vulnerability in CryptoLib's Crypto_TC_ApplySecurity() function allows attackers to craft malicious Telecommand frames that cause out-of-bounds memory writes. This can lead to denial of service or remote code execution in systems using CryptoLib for spacecraft-ground station communications. Affected systems include satellite ground stations, mission control software, and any applications processing TC frames with vulnerable CryptoLib versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- CryptoLib
- Systems using CryptoLib for SDLS-EP security
- cFS-based spacecraft ground systems
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution allowing complete system compromise of ground station infrastructure, potentially enabling spacecraft control takeover or data exfiltration.
Likely Case
Denial of service causing ground station communication disruption and potential mission impact through corrupted telecommand processing.
If Mitigated
Controlled crash or performance degradation with proper input validation and memory protection mechanisms in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting malicious TC frames but does not require authentication. The advisory provides technical details that could aid exploitation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in commit c7e8a8745ff4b5e9bd7e500e91358e86d5abedcc
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/security/advisories/GHSA-q2pc-c3jx-3852
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Pull latest CryptoLib from GitHub. 2. Apply commit c7e8a8745ff4b5e9bd7e500e91358e86d5abedcc. 3. Rebuild and reinstall CryptoLib. 4. Restart all services using CryptoLib. 5. Validate TC frame processing functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allImplement strict validation of incoming TC frames before passing to Crypto_TC_ApplySecurity()
# Add validation layer in TC processing pipeline
# Reject frames with unexpected sizes or malformed headers
Network Segmentation
allIsolate ground station networks from untrusted networks and implement strict firewall rules
# Configure firewall to only allow TC frames from authorized sources
# Implement network monitoring for anomalous TC traffic
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation and allow only trusted sources for TC frames
- Deploy runtime protection mechanisms like ASLR and stack canaries if not already enabled
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check CryptoLib version: if using version 1.3.3 or earlier and processing TC frames, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check CryptoLib source for version information or build metadataVerify Fix Applied:
Verify commit c7e8a8745ff4b5e9bd7e500e91358e86d5abedcc is applied in CryptoLib source and test with valid TC frames.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- CryptoLib crash logs
- Memory access violation errors
- Abnormal TC frame processing failures
Network Indicators:
- Malformed TC frames with unusual sizes
- TC frames from unauthorized sources
- Sudden spikes in TC traffic
SIEM Query:
source="cryptolib" AND (event_type="crash" OR error="buffer_overflow" OR error="memory_access")