CVE-2025-69412
📋 TL;DR
KDE messagelib versions before 25.11.90 ignore SSL certificate validation errors when contacting Google's Safe Browsing Lookup API, potentially allowing attackers to spoof threat data through man-in-the-middle attacks. This affects users who have enabled the Google Safe Browsing Lookup API feature in KDE messagelib, though it's disabled by default.
💻 Affected Systems
- KDE messagelib
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could spoof threat data to make legitimate websites appear malicious or hide actual malicious sites, leading to phishing attacks or blocking legitimate content.
Likely Case
Limited impact since the vulnerable API is disabled by default; only users who manually enable it could potentially receive spoofed threat data.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper SSL certificate validation and network controls; the default configuration is not vulnerable.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires man-in-the-middle position and user enabling the vulnerable feature; no public exploits known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 25.11.90 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/KDE/messagelib/commit/01adef0482bb3d5c817433db5208620c84a992b3
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update KDE messagelib to version 25.11.90 or later using your distribution's package manager. 2. Restart any applications using messagelib.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Google Safe Browsing Lookup API
allEnsure the Google Safe Browsing Lookup API feature remains disabled (default setting).
Network segmentation
allRestrict outbound HTTPS connections to Google Safe Browsing API endpoints to prevent MITM attacks.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Keep Google Safe Browsing Lookup API disabled (default).
- Implement network monitoring for unusual connections to Google Safe Browsing API.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check messagelib version: 'apt list --installed | grep messagelib' on Debian/Ubuntu or 'rpm -qa | grep messagelib' on RHEL/Fedora. If version is below 25.11.90, it's vulnerable.Check Version:
apt list --installed | grep messagelib # Debian/Ubuntu
rpm -qa | grep messagelib # RHEL/FedoraVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 25.11.90 or higher using the same commands.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Failed SSL certificate validation logs for Google Safe Browsing API connections
- Unusual threat data changes in messagelib logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTPS connections to Google Safe Browsing API (safebrowsing.googleapis.com) with invalid certificates
- MITM activity on port 443 to safebrowsing.googleapis.com
SIEM Query:
source="*messagelib*" AND ("SSL error" OR "certificate" OR "safebrowsing")