CVE-2025-54874
Uclouvain Openjpeg ≤ 2.5.3
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/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-2025-54874 is a medium-severity Use of Uninitialized Variable (CWE-457) vulnerability in Uclouvain Openjpeg. Its CVSS base score is 6.6 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked at the 47th 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-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2025-54874 is a critical vulnerability in OpenJPEG, an open-source JPEG 2000 codec, affecting versions 2.5.1 through 2.5.3. The issue arises in the opj_jp2_read_header function, which can trigger an out-of-bounds (OOB) heap memory write when the input data stream (p_stream) is too short and the p_image structure is not properly initialized. This flaw, associated with CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable), 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 high severity due to its potential for severe impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Remote, unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity and no user interaction required. By supplying a specially crafted JPEG 2000 image or data stream that meets the faulty conditions, an attacker could cause heap memory corruption, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution, data tampering, or denial-of-service crashes in applications processing untrusted JPEG 2000 files via OpenJPEG.
Mitigation involves updating to a patched version of OpenJPEG, as detailed in the upstream fix via commit f809b80c67717c152a5ad30bf06774f00da4fd2d and pull request #1573 on the uclouvain/openjpeg GitHub repository. Additionally, the GitHub Security Lab advisory GHSL-2025-057 highlights implications for OpenCV, which integrates OpenJPEG, urging users of affected OpenCV builds to apply corresponding updates or avoid processing untrusted inputs.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-23631
Vulnerability Data
OpenJPEG is an open-source JPEG 2000 codec. In OpenJPEG from 2.5.1 through 2.5.3, a call to opj_jp2_read_header may lead to OOB heap memory write when the data stream p_stream is too short and p_image is not initialized.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and static analysis directly find uses of uninitialized variables before deployment.
Documented development standards and tools can enforce initialization requirements in code.
Engineering principles can mandate explicit variable initialization to avoid uninitialized use.
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 directly catch uninitialized-variable defects via static analysis and code review while the control encompasses many additional development controls.
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 can detect uninitialized-variable bugs, but the control is broader.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that reduce uninitialized-variable defects.
Application security requirements can specify initialization rules, but the control itself does not directly address the weakness.
Secure coding explicitly requires variable initialization and static-analysis checks.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive coding that can mitigate uninitialized variables.