Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-30216

Memory Safety in Nasa Cryptolib ≤ 1.4.0

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
25 March 2025
Modified
06 May 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.025 83th percentile
Risk Priority 76 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-30216 is a critical-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Nasa Cryptolib. Its CVSS base score is 9.4 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 17% 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.

CryptoLib is a software library implementing the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol - Extended Procedures (SDLS-EP) to protect communications between a cFS-based spacecraft and ground stations. Versions 1.3.3 and earlier contain a heap overflow in the Crypto_TM_ProcessSecurity function at crypto_tm.c:1735, where an excessively large Secondary Header Length field in a TM protocol packet causes an out-of-bounds memcpy into the dynamically allocated p_new_dec_frame buffer. The flaw is tracked as CWE-122 and CWE-787 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.4.

An unauthenticated network attacker can send a crafted TM packet that triggers the overflow, allowing adjacent heap memory to be overwritten. Successful exploitation can result in arbitrary code execution or denial of service against the CryptoLib instance processing the packet.

The project has published a fix in commit 810fd66d592c883125272fef123c3240db2f170f; the corresponding GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-v3jc-5j74-hcjv recommends upgrading to a patched release. The current EPSS score of 0.0769 shows no material increase since disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

CryptoLib provides a software-only solution using the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol - Extended Procedures (SDLS-EP) to secure communications between a spacecraft running the core Flight System (cFS) and a ground station. In versions 1.3.3 and prior, a Heap…

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Overflow vulnerability occurs in the `Crypto_TM_ProcessSecurity` function (`crypto_tm.c:1735:8`). When processing the Secondary Header Length of a TM protocol packet, if the Secondary Header Length exceeds the packet's total length, a heap overflow is triggered during the memcpy operation that copies packet data into the dynamically allocated buffer `p_new_dec_frame`. This allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent heap memory, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system instability. A patch is available at commit 810fd66d592c883125272fef123c3240db2f170f.

CWE(s)
CWE-122CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
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 →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
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-2025-29911Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-29912Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2026-22697Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-54878Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2026-22027Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2026-5474Same vendor: Nasa
CVE-2024-3758Shared CWE-122, CWE-787
CVE-2023-37294Shared CWE-122, CWE-787
CVE-2026-6305Shared CWE-122, CWE-787
CVE-2024-27374Shared CWE-122, CWE-787

Affected Assets

nasa
cryptolib
≤ 1.4.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and memory-error detectors) can discover heap overflows after they have been coded.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation enforces bounds checking on data written to heap buffers, directly stopping the overflow condition from being introduced.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require use of memory-safe constructs and bounds-checked allocation routines that avoid introducing heap overflows.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability of a heap overflow to execute attacker-controlled code or corrupt adjacent structures.

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 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

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 and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

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

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References