Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-25568

Memory Safety in Softether Vpn 5.02.5187

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
12 March 2025
Modified
19 July 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0057 44th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-25568 is a critical-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Softether Vpn. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 44th 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 map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — 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-2025-25568 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) affecting SoftEtherVPN version 5.02.5187, specifically in the Command.c file through the CheckNetworkAcceptThread function. The issue has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical), reflecting its potential severity. However, the supplier disputes the vulnerability's validity, asserting that the use-after-free occurs not in the core VPN software but in a separate stress-testing tool for the networking stack, which processes no untrusted input and executes under the user's own privileges.

An attacker with network access could potentially exploit this vulnerability remotely with low complexity, requiring no privileges or user interaction, to achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) within the unchanged scope. This suggests possibilities like arbitrary code execution or system compromise, though the supplier's dispute implies limited practical exploitability due to the affected component's isolated nature and lack of exposure to untrusted inputs.

Advisories and additional details are available in referenced documents, including the supplier's response at https://filecenter.softether-upload.com/d/250715_001_79538/CVE-2025-25568.pdf and researcher analysis at https://lzydry.github.io/CVE-2025-25568/. The supplier's position emphasizes that no mitigation beyond standard secure usage of the tool is necessary, given its non-internet-facing design and user-controlled execution context.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

SoftEtherVPN 5.02.5187 is vulnerable to Use after Free in the Command.c file via the CheckNetworkAcceptThread function. NOTE: the Supplier disputes this because the use-after-free is not in the VPN software, but is instead in a separate tool that has no…

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untrusted input and runs under the user's own privileges (it is a stress-testing tool for a networking stack).

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-26681Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-48543Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-54127Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-50323Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-38078Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-21929Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-53025Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-47748Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-60002Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-1118Shared CWE-416

Affected Assets

softether
vpn
5.02.5187

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

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-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References