CVE-2025-1744: Radare2 Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-1744 Overview

CVE-2025-1744 is a critical Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability affecting radare2, the popular open-source reverse engineering framework developed by radareorg. This vulnerability enables heap-based buffer over-read or buffer overflow conditions, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code or crash the application when processing maliciously crafted input.

Radare2 is widely used by security researchers, malware analysts, and reverse engineers for binary analysis, debugging, and forensics. The critical nature of this vulnerability poses significant risks to users who may analyze untrusted binaries or files, as the vulnerability can be triggered through network-accessible vectors.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to exploit heap-based buffer operations, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service on systems running vulnerable versions of radare2.

Affected Products

• radare2 versions prior to 5.9.9
• All platforms where radare2 is deployed (Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD)
• Applications and tools built on the radare2 framework (r2pipe integrations, Cutter GUI)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-28 - CVE-2025-1744 published to NVD
• 2025-07-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1744

Vulnerability Analysis

This Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability (CWE-787) occurs within the radare2 codebase where improper boundary checks allow write operations beyond allocated heap buffer limits. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data sizes before performing memory operations, leading to either heap-based buffer over-reads or buffer overflows.

When radare2 processes certain malformed input, the application fails to properly validate buffer boundaries, allowing an attacker to corrupt adjacent heap memory. This memory corruption can be leveraged to overwrite critical data structures, potentially hijacking program control flow or leaking sensitive memory contents.

The network-accessible attack vector indicates that this vulnerability could be exploited through various input channels that radare2 supports, including analyzing malicious binaries or processing crafted file formats.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-1744 lies in improper bounds checking during heap memory operations within radare2. The vulnerable code path fails to validate that write operations remain within the allocated buffer boundaries, allowing memory corruption when processing specially crafted input.

This class of vulnerability typically occurs when:

• Buffer size calculations do not account for all edge cases
• Loop conditions allow iterations beyond buffer boundaries
• Pointer arithmetic is performed without proper validation
• Size parameters from untrusted sources are used without sanitization

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable via network-based attack vectors with no authentication or user interaction required. An attacker could craft malicious binary files, debugging sessions, or analysis inputs that trigger the out-of-bounds write condition when processed by radare2.

Potential attack scenarios include:

• Distributing malicious binary samples that exploit the vulnerability when analyzed
• Targeting automated malware analysis pipelines using radare2
• Exploiting remote debugging capabilities or r2pipe connections
• Crafting malicious project files or database formats that trigger the vulnerability on load

The vulnerability mechanism involves heap memory operations where boundary validation is insufficient. When radare2 processes certain input patterns, write operations can exceed allocated buffer boundaries, corrupting adjacent heap metadata or application data structures. Technical details and the specific fix can be reviewed in the GitHub Pull Request #23969.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1744

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected crashes or segmentation faults in radare2 during file analysis
• Heap corruption errors or memory allocation failures in radare2 processes
• Anomalous memory usage patterns when processing specific binary files
• Core dumps containing evidence of heap buffer overflows

Detection Strategies

• Monitor radare2 process behavior for signs of memory corruption using application-level monitoring
• Implement file integrity monitoring on systems where radare2 analyzes untrusted binaries
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying exploitation attempts against analysis tools
• Use memory protection mechanisms (ASLR, stack canaries) to detect and mitigate exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Log and audit all binary files processed by radare2 in automated analysis environments
• Implement sandbox isolation for radare2 analysis operations on untrusted samples
• Monitor system logs for unusual radare2 process terminations or crashes
• Track radare2 version deployments across the organization to identify vulnerable installations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1744

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade radare2 to version 5.9.9 or later immediately
• Audit systems for vulnerable radare2 installations and prioritize patching
• Isolate radare2 analysis environments from production networks until patched
• Review recent analysis operations for any suspicious crashes or anomalies

Patch Information

The radare2 development team has addressed this vulnerability in version 5.9.9. The fix implements proper boundary validation for heap buffer operations, preventing the out-of-bounds write condition.

Users should update their radare2 installations through their package manager or by building from source:

• Review the official fix at GitHub Pull Request #23969
• Download the latest release from the official radare2 GitHub repository
• Verify the integrity of downloaded packages before installation

Workarounds

• Run radare2 in isolated sandbox environments when analyzing untrusted binaries
• Implement resource limits and process isolation using containers or VMs
• Disable network-facing features and remote debugging capabilities until patched
• Use memory-safe wrapper scripts to detect and terminate abnormal radare2 behavior

# Example: Running radare2 in an isolated container environment
docker pull radare/radare2:5.9.9
docker run --rm -it --network=none \
  --cap-drop=ALL \
  --read-only \
  -v /path/to/samples:/samples:ro \
  radare/radare2:5.9.9 \
  r2 /samples/suspicious_binary