Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-6170

Memory Safety in Redhat Enterprise Linux 10.0 … 9.0

Published
16 June 2025
Modified
27 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 2.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0021 11th percentile
Risk Priority 15 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-6170 is a low-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 2.5 (Low).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 11th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A flaw was found in the interactive shell of the xmllint command-line tool, used for parsing XML files. When a user inputs an overly long command, the program does not check the input size properly, which can cause it to…

more

crash. This issue might allow attackers to run harmful code in rare configurations without modern protections.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
Why these techniques?

The stack buffer overflow in xmllint's interactive shell enables arbitrary code execution via client application exploitation (T1203) or denial of service through application crash (T1499.004) in vulnerable configurations.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-0992Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-6732Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-0990Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-0989Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-11979Same product: Xmlsoft Libxml2
CVE-2025-7424Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-9150Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2025-6021Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
CVE-2026-11793Same vendor: Redhat
CVE-2026-24881Shared CWE-121

Affected Assets

redhat
jboss core services
all versions
redhat
openshift container platform
4.0
redhat
enterprise linux
10.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0
xmlsoft
libxml2
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires validation of input size/length before processing commands in xmllint, preventing the stack buffer overflow (CWE-121).

prevent

Enforces memory protections (e.g., ASLR, non-executable stacks) that block exploitation of the overflow in configurations lacking modern safeguards.

respondrecover

Mandates timely patching of the identified buffer-overflow flaw in xmllint/libxml2 to eliminate the root cause.

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-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

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.

detects

Security testing (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

none

Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.

References