CVE-2018-25154

CriticalPublic PoC

Published: 24 December 2025

Published

24 December 2025

Modified

15 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0010 27.2th percentile

Risk Priority 20 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2018-25154 is a critical-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Fsf (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 27.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190). What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

Requires timely identification, reporting, and patching of flaws like the buffer overflow in GNU Barcode's code 93 encoding process to eliminate the vulnerability.

SI-16 Memory Protection good match

prevent

Implements memory protection mechanisms such as ASLR, DEP, and stack canaries to prevent exploitation of memory corruption from buffer overflows during input file processing.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

prevent

Enforces validation of information inputs to the code 93 encoding process, preventing boundary errors and malformed inputs that trigger the buffer overflow.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Buffer overflow enables remote unauthenticated arbitrary code execution (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), directly facilitating T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

NVD Description

GNU Barcode 0.99 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in its code 93 encoding process that allows attackers to trigger memory corruption. Attackers can exploit boundary errors during input file processing to potentially execute arbitrary code on the affected system.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2018-25154 is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-787) affecting GNU Barcode version 0.99, specifically in its code 93 encoding process. The flaw arises from boundary errors during input file processing, enabling attackers to trigger memory corruption. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity due to its potential for high-impact effects.

Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low attack complexity, requiring no privileges, authentication, or user interaction. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution on the affected system, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

References include the GNU Barcode project page (https://www.gnu.org/software/barcode/), the Free Software Foundation directory entry (https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Barcode), and an Exploit-DB entry (https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44797), which documents the vulnerability. No specific mitigation or patch details are provided in the available information.