CVE-2025-1471: Eclipse OMR Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-1471 Overview

A buffer overflow vulnerability has been identified in Eclipse OMR, an open-source cross-platform runtime technology project. The vulnerability exists in the z/OS atoe print functions, which use a constant-length buffer for string conversion operations. When input format strings and arguments exceed the buffer size, a buffer overflow condition occurs, potentially leading to memory corruption, application crashes, or arbitrary code execution.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can exploit this buffer overflow to corrupt memory, crash applications, or potentially execute arbitrary code by providing oversized input to vulnerable z/OS atoe print functions.

Affected Products

• Eclipse OMR versions 0.2.0 through 0.4.0
• Applications built using the Eclipse OMR runtime with z/OS atoe print functions
• z/OS systems running vulnerable Eclipse OMR versions

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-21 - CVE-2025-1471 published to NVD
• 2025-03-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1471

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), a critical memory corruption flaw that occurs when software writes data past the end of an allocated buffer. In the context of Eclipse OMR, the z/OS atoe print functions perform ASCII-to-EBCDIC conversion using fixed-size buffers that do not account for variable-length input data.

The local attack vector means an attacker needs access to the target system to exploit this vulnerability. However, no special privileges are required to trigger the buffer overflow condition, and no user interaction is necessary. Successful exploitation can result in limited confidentiality impact but significant integrity and availability impacts, potentially allowing attackers to modify memory contents or crash the application.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper memory management within the z/OS atoe print functions. These functions allocate a constant-length buffer for string conversion operations without properly validating that the combined size of the input format string and arguments fits within the allocated space. This design flaw fails to account for edge cases where legitimate input data exceeds the buffer capacity.

The fix implemented in version 0.5.0 addresses this by correctly sizing conversion buffers based on actual input requirements and implementing appropriate boundary checks to prevent buffer overflows during string conversion operations.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability requires local access to exploit. An attacker with access to a system running a vulnerable version of Eclipse OMR can trigger the buffer overflow by providing carefully crafted input to applications that utilize the z/OS atoe print functions. The attack does not require elevated privileges or user interaction.

The exploitation mechanism involves supplying format strings and arguments that, when combined, exceed the fixed buffer size used for ASCII-to-EBCDIC conversion. This causes data to be written beyond the buffer boundary, corrupting adjacent memory regions. Depending on what data structures are overwritten, this could lead to application instability, denial of service, or potentially arbitrary code execution.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1471

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected application crashes in software built with Eclipse OMR on z/OS systems
• Memory corruption errors or segmentation faults during string conversion operations
• Abnormal memory usage patterns in applications utilizing atoe print functions
• Core dumps indicating buffer overflow conditions in Eclipse OMR library code

Detection Strategies

• Monitor application logs for signs of buffer overflow conditions or memory corruption
• Implement runtime memory protection tools to detect out-of-bounds write operations
• Use static analysis tools to identify calls to vulnerable atoe print functions in codebases
• Deploy intrusion detection systems configured to identify exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for applications using Eclipse OMR to capture potential exploitation attempts
• Monitor system stability metrics for applications built with affected Eclipse OMR versions
• Implement memory integrity monitoring on z/OS systems running vulnerable software
• Track application crash reports and core dumps for signs of buffer overflow exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1471

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Eclipse OMR to version 0.5.0 or later, which includes properly sized conversion buffers and appropriate boundary checks
• Audit applications built with Eclipse OMR versions 0.2.0 through 0.4.0 to identify affected deployments
• Implement input validation in applications that pass user-controlled data to atoe print functions
• Consider restricting local access to systems running vulnerable Eclipse OMR versions until patching is complete

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in Eclipse OMR version 0.5.0. The fix ensures that conversion buffers are correctly sized and properly checked to prevent buffer overflow conditions. Technical details of the patch are available in the Eclipse OMR GitHub Pull Request #7658. Additional information regarding the CVE assignment can be found in the Eclipse GitLab Security Issue.

Organizations should prioritize upgrading to version 0.5.0 or later. For development teams maintaining applications built with Eclipse OMR, recompiling against the patched version is recommended to ensure the fix is incorporated.

Workarounds

• Implement input length validation before passing data to atoe print functions to ensure inputs do not exceed safe limits
• Restrict local access to affected systems to trusted users only until patching can be completed
• Deploy application-level controls to limit the size of format strings and arguments passed to vulnerable functions
• Consider implementing additional memory protection mechanisms such as stack canaries and ASLR where supported on z/OS

# Upgrade Eclipse OMR to patched version
# Clone the latest repository with the fix
git clone https://github.com/eclipse-omr/omr.git
cd omr
git checkout v0.5.0

# Rebuild your application against the patched version
# Follow Eclipse OMR build instructions for your platform