CVE-2025-4059: Prison Management System Buffer Overflow

CVE-2025-4059 Overview

CVE-2025-4059 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in code-projects Prison Management System 1.0. The flaw resides in the addrecord function within the Prison_Mgmt_Sys component. Attackers can trigger the overflow by manipulating the filename argument passed to this function. Exploitation requires local access to the vulnerable system, which limits remote attack scenarios. The exploit details have been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of opportunistic abuse against exposed installations. The vulnerability maps to [CWE-119] (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) and [CWE-787] (Out-of-Bounds Write).

Critical Impact
A local attacker supplying a crafted filename argument to the addrecord function can corrupt the stack, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or application crash within the Prison Management System 1.0 process context.

Affected Products

code-projects Prison Management System 1.0
Prison_Mgmt_Sys component (addrecord function)
Deployments referencing CPE cpe:2.3:a:code-projects:prison_management_system:1.0

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-29 - CVE-2025-4059 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4059

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a classic stack-based buffer overflow triggered through unchecked handling of the filename argument in the addrecord function. When the application processes record creation, it copies attacker-controlled input into a fixed-size stack buffer without validating the source length. Supplying a filename value that exceeds the destination buffer overwrites adjacent stack memory, including saved return addresses and control data. Because Prison Management System 1.0 is a small C/C++ application produced by code-projects and distributed as sample code, it is unlikely to include modern stack protections such as canaries or ASLR consistently across builds. Additional analysis is available in the GitHub CVE Analysis and the VulDB #306496 report.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing bounds checking on the filename parameter before it is written into a fixed-length stack buffer inside addrecord. Unsafe string-handling routines such as strcpy, sprintf, or gets typically underlie this class of defect in similar code-projects samples.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access with low privileges and no user interaction. An attacker executes the vulnerable binary and provides an oversized filename argument through the interactive prompt or command input handled by addrecord. Successful exploitation can crash the process or, on unhardened builds, redirect execution to attacker-controlled shellcode.

No verified exploit code is published in the referenced advisories. Refer to the VulDB CTI Report #306496 for further technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4059

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected crashes or segmentation faults of the Prison_Mgmt_Sys process on hosts running Prison Management System 1.0.
Core dumps or Windows Error Reporting entries referencing corrupted return addresses within addrecord.
Presence of unusually long strings passed as record filenames in application logs or shell history.

Detection Strategies

Monitor for local process launches of the Prison_Mgmt_Sys binary followed by abnormal termination signals such as SIGSEGV or access violations.
Inspect command-line arguments and standard input for filename values that exceed reasonable path lengths (for example, greater than 256 bytes).
Run static analysis against the compiled binary to locate unsafe string operations in the addrecord routine.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable audit logging for process creation and crash events on hosts running the affected application.
Correlate local user activity with Prison_Mgmt_Sys crash telemetry to identify probing attempts.
Track file system writes originating from unexpected child processes of Prison_Mgmt_Sys, which may indicate post-exploitation activity.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4059

Immediate Actions Required

Restrict local execution of the Prison_Mgmt_Sys binary to trusted administrative users only.
Remove Prison Management System 1.0 from production environments where it is not required, as the project is distributed as sample code.
Enable operating system exploit mitigations such as DEP, ASLR, and stack canaries for any host still running the binary.

Patch Information

No vendor patch is listed in the referenced advisories. code-projects distributes Prison Management System as an educational sample, and no fixed version is currently identified. Consult the Code Projects Overview and the VulDB Submit Report #559359 for the latest status.

Workarounds

Recompile the source with modern compiler flags such as -fstack-protector-strong, -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2, and -fPIE to raise the bar for exploitation.
Replace unsafe string operations in addrecord with bounded equivalents such as strncpy or snprintf when modifying the source.
Enforce input length validation on the filename argument before it reaches the vulnerable function.
Isolate the application in a low-privilege user account or container to limit the impact of local compromise.

bash

# Configuration example: rebuild with hardening flags and restrict execution
gcc -O2 -fstack-protector-strong -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 \
    -fPIE -pie -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now \
    -o prison_mgmt_sys prison_mgmt_sys.c

# Limit execution to a dedicated low-privilege user
chown root:prisonapp prison_mgmt_sys
chmod 750 prison_mgmt_sys