CVE-2025-60021
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a remote command injection vulnerability in Apache bRPC's heap profiler service. Attackers can execute arbitrary commands by injecting malicious parameters into the /pprof/heap endpoint. All organizations using bRPC versions before 1.15.0 with the heap profiler enabled are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Apache bRPC
📦 What is this software?
Brpc by Apache
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the bRPC process, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or complete system takeover.
Likely Case
Remote code execution leading to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or deployment of malware/backdoors on affected systems.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if the heap profiler service is disabled or network access is restricted, though the vulnerability still exists in the codebase.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability is straightforward to exploit as it involves simple command injection without authentication requirements.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.15.0
Vendor Advisory: https://lists.apache.org/thread/xy51d2fx6drzhfp92xptsx5845q7b37m
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download bRPC version 1.15.0 or later from the official Apache repository. 2. Replace the existing bRPC installation with the patched version. 3. Restart all services using bRPC. 4. Verify the fix by checking that the /pprof/heap endpoint properly validates input.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable heap profiler service
allDisable the vulnerable /pprof/heap endpoint to prevent exploitation
Configure bRPC to disable the heap profiler service in your application configuration
Network access restriction
linuxRestrict network access to the bRPC service using firewall rules
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [BRPC_PORT] -s [TRUSTED_NETWORK] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [BRPC_PORT] -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable the heap profiler service immediately in all bRPC configurations
- Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit access to bRPC services
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if bRPC version is below 1.15.0 and if the /pprof/heap endpoint is accessible and responds to requests.Check Version:
Check your application's dependency manifest or run your bRPC application with version flag if availableVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify that command injection attempts on the /pprof/heap endpoint are rejected and that the service returns version 1.15.0 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual command execution patterns
- Suspicious parameters in /pprof/heap requests
- Unexpected process spawns from bRPC service
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests to /pprof/heap with shell metacharacters or command injection payloads
- Unusual outbound connections from bRPC service
SIEM Query:
source="bRPC" AND (url_path="/pprof/heap" AND (param="extra_options" CONTAINS "|" OR param="extra_options" CONTAINS ";" OR param="extra_options" CONTAINS "`"))