CVE-2025-24482: DLL Injection Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-24482 Overview

CVE-2025-24482 is a Local Code Injection vulnerability affecting Rockwell Automation products. The vulnerability stems from incorrect default permissions that allow malicious DLLs to be executed with elevated privileges, enabling attackers with local access to inject and execute arbitrary code in a higher privilege context.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can exploit incorrect default permissions to execute malicious DLLs with elevated privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise and unauthorized access to industrial control systems.

Affected Products

• Rockwell Automation products (see Rockwell Automation Security Advisory SD1720 for specific product versions)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-01-28 - CVE-2025-24482 published to NVD
• 2025-01-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24482

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code), which encompasses code injection weaknesses. The flaw exists due to misconfigured default permissions in the affected Rockwell Automation product, allowing unauthorized users to place malicious DLL files in locations where the application will load them with elevated privileges.

The local attack vector requires an attacker to have some level of access to the target system, but does not require any special privileges to exploit. Once a malicious DLL is placed in the vulnerable location, the application will load and execute it with higher-level permissions than the attacker would normally possess. This can result in limited confidentiality and integrity impacts, but may cause significant availability disruption to the affected system.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24482 is incorrect default permissions on directories or files used by the application during DLL loading operations. When applications do not properly restrict write access to directories in their DLL search path, attackers can introduce malicious libraries that will be loaded and executed with the application's privilege level.

This type of vulnerability often occurs when:

• Installation directories have overly permissive ACLs
• The application searches for DLLs in user-writable locations
• Default configurations fail to implement the principle of least privilege

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to the vulnerable system. An attacker would perform the following steps to exploit this vulnerability:

1. Identify directories where the vulnerable application searches for DLLs
2. Verify that these directories have write permissions for the attacker's user context
3. Create a malicious DLL with the expected filename that the application attempts to load
4. Place the malicious DLL in the writable search path directory
5. Wait for or trigger the application to restart or load the DLL
6. The malicious code executes with the application's elevated privileges

The vulnerability does not require user interaction for successful exploitation, making it particularly dangerous in environments where attackers have gained initial local access.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24482

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected DLL files appearing in application installation directories or paths
• New or modified DLL files with recent timestamps that don't match legitimate software updates
• DLL files with mismatched digital signatures or unsigned DLLs in locations that should contain signed files
• Process execution logs showing applications loading DLLs from unusual locations

Detection Strategies

• Monitor file system changes in directories associated with Rockwell Automation products, particularly for new DLL files
• Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized DLLs from being loaded
• Use endpoint detection tools to identify DLL side-loading attempts and privilege escalation behavior
• Audit directory permissions on application installation paths to identify misconfigurations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Windows file auditing for write operations on application directories used by affected Rockwell Automation products
• Configure SIEM rules to alert on DLL file creation events in protected application directories
• Monitor process creation events for applications spawning unexpected child processes
• Implement integrity monitoring on critical application directories to detect unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24482

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the Rockwell Automation Security Advisory SD1720 for specific patch and mitigation guidance
• Audit and restrict file system permissions on application installation directories
• Remove write access for non-administrative users to directories in the DLL search path
• Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized DLL execution

Patch Information

Rockwell Automation has released a security advisory addressing this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the official security advisory for specific patch versions and update instructions for affected products.

Workarounds

• Restrict directory permissions by removing write access for standard users on application installation directories
• Implement the principle of least privilege for all user accounts with access to systems running affected products
• Use Windows Defender Application Control or similar solutions to enforce code integrity policies
• Segment networks to limit local access to systems running industrial control software

# Configuration example - Restrict directory permissions (Windows)
# Replace <APPLICATION_PATH> with the actual installation directory
icacls "<APPLICATION_PATH>" /inheritance:r /grant:r "SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F" /grant:r "Administrators:(OI)(CI)F" /grant:r "Users:(OI)(CI)RX"