CVE-2025-52541
📋 TL;DR
A DLL hijacking vulnerability in AMD's Vivado design suite allows local attackers to escalate privileges by placing malicious DLLs in directories searched by the application. This affects users running Vivado on Windows systems where attackers have local access.
💻 Affected Systems
- AMD Vivado Design Suite
⚠️ 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.
- 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 with administrative privileges, enabling installation of persistent malware, data theft, and lateral movement across the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, potentially leading to credential harvesting and further system exploitation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper access controls, though still presents risk if attackers gain initial foothold on vulnerable systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
DLL hijacking is a well-known attack vector with established techniques; exploitation requires local access and knowledge of vulnerable DLL search paths.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check AMD-SB-8013 for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://www.amd.com/en/resources/product-security/bulletin/AMD-SB-8013.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Visit AMD's security advisory page
2. Download the latest Vivado version
3. Install the update following vendor instructions
4. Restart the system
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict DLL search paths
windowsConfigure Windows to restrict DLL search paths and prevent loading from untrusted directories
Set SafeDllSearchMode registry key to 1
Configure CWDIllegalInDllSearch registry key
Restrict file permissions
windowsSet strict file permissions on Vivado installation directories to prevent unauthorized DLL placement
icacls "C:\Xilinx\Vivado\" /deny Users:(OI)(CI)W
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit local user privileges
- Monitor for suspicious DLL loading events using Windows Event Logs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Vivado version against AMD's advisory and verify if running on affected Windows versionsCheck Version:
vivado -version (from command line)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Vivado version is updated to patched version listed in AMD-SB-8013📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Windows Event ID 7 (Kernel-Driver) showing unexpected DLL loads
- Process Monitor logs showing DLL loading from unusual locations
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local attack only
SIEM Query:
EventID=7 AND (ImagePath contains "vivado" OR ProcessName contains "vivado") AND (Signature contains "unsigned" OR SignatureStatus="Unavailable")