CVE-2025-12259
Memory Safety in Totolink A3300R Firmware 17.0.0cu.557_b20221024
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2025-12259 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Totolink A3300R Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 42% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-12259 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability affecting the TOTOLINK A3300R router on firmware version 17.0.0cu.557_B20221024. The issue lies in the setScheduleCfg function within the /cgi-bin/cstecgi.cgi file, part of the POST Parameter Handler component, where manipulation of the recHour argument triggers the overflow.
The vulnerability enables remote exploitation over the network with low complexity and low privileges required (PR:L), without user interaction (UI:N). Per its CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), successful attacks can result in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, associated with CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) and CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow).
Advisories reference a published exploit on GitHub at https://github.com/noahze01/IoT-vulnerable/blob/main/TOTOLink/A3300R/setScheduleCfg.md, along with VulDB entries (https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.329930, https://vuldb.com/?id.329930, https://vuldb.com/?submit.673726) and the vendor site https://www.totolink.net/. The exploit is available for use, but no specific patches or mitigations are detailed in the provided references.
Notable context includes the public availability of the exploit, indicating heightened risk for real-world exploitation against unpatched TOTOLINK A3300R devices.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-36155
Vulnerability Data
A flaw has been found in TOTOLINK A3300R 17.0.0cu.557_B20221024. The affected element is the function setScheduleCfg of the file /cgi-bin/cstecgi.cgi of the component POST Parameter Handler. This manipulation of the argument recHour causes stack-based buffer overflow. It is possible to…
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initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been published and may be used.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
V17.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and analysis can discover stack-buffer overflows before deployment.
Input validation directly stops untrusted data from exceeding stack buffer bounds.
Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability to execute injected code after a stack overflow.
Secure engineering principles require memory-safe design and coding that structurally avoids buffer-boundary violations.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.
Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.
Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.
Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.
Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.
Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.
Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.
Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
- V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121