Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-54878

Memory Safety in Nasa Cryptolib ≤ 1.4.1

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
11 August 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6
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:L/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0039 32th percentile
Risk Priority 64 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-54878 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Nasa Cryptolib. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 32th 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 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-2025-54878 is a heap buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) affecting NASA CryptoLib version 1.4.0 and prior. CryptoLib provides a software-only solution implementing 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. The flaw resides in the IV setup logic for telecommand frames, where missing bounds checks allow the Initialization Vector (IV) to be copied into a freshly allocated heap buffer, enabling a one-byte write past the buffer's end.

An attacker able to supply a crafted or malformed telecommand (TC) frame can trigger heap corruption and undefined behavior in the library. This may result in a crash (denial of service) or more severe exploitation outcomes. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H) reflects its network accessibility, low complexity, lack of required privileges or user interaction, and potential for limited confidentiality/integrity impact alongside high availability impact.

The issue has been addressed in CryptoLib version 1.4.0. Mitigation details are available in the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-9qph-pxfm-q9g4) and the associated patching commit (9b5b294ec09da450d2d4d05aea2db604ead48be1), which security practitioners should consult for upgrade guidance.

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. A heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in…

more

NASA CryptoLib version 1.4.0 and prior in the IV setup logic for telecommand frames. The problem arises from missing bounds checks when copying the Initialization Vector (IV) into a freshly allocated buffer. An attacker can supply a crafted TC frame that causes the library to write one byte past the end of the heap buffer, leading to heap corruption and undefined behaviour. An attacker supplying a malformed telecommand frame can corrupt heap memory. This leads to undefined behaviour, which could manifest itself as a crash (denial of service) or more severe exploitation. This issue has been patched in version 1.4.0.

CWE(s)
CWE-122

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 →
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-2026-22697Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2026-22027Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-29911Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-30216Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-29912Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-46672Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-64096Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2026-21899Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2024-44911Same product: Nasa Cryptolib
CVE-2025-29913Same product: Nasa Cryptolib

Affected Assets

nasa
cryptolib
≤ 1.4.1

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-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 none match
none

Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.

References