CVE-2025-46014 Overview
CVE-2025-46014 affects Honor Device Co., Ltd Honor PC Manager v16.0.0.118. Several services in the application connect to the named pipe iMateBookAssistant with default or overly permissive security attributes. A local attacker with low-privileged access can interact with the pipe and escalate privileges on the host. The flaw is categorized under [CWE-276] Incorrect Default Permissions. A proof-of-concept is publicly available in a third-party GitHub repository, increasing the likelihood of exploitation against unpatched endpoints.
Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants a local attacker elevated privileges through the iMateBookAssistant named pipe, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected Windows host.
Affected Products
- Honor PC Manager v16.0.0.118
- Honor Device Co., Ltd PC Manager services binding to iMateBookAssistant named pipe
- Windows endpoints running vulnerable Honor PC Manager builds
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-30 - CVE-2025-46014 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-46014
Vulnerability Analysis
Honor PC Manager exposes inter-process communication through the Windows named pipe iMateBookAssistant. Multiple service components attach to this pipe using default or overly permissive security descriptors. As a result, low-privileged users on the same system can open, read from, and write to the pipe and invoke privileged operations exposed by the service. Because the privileged service trusts client requests arriving on the pipe, an attacker can leverage the channel to execute actions in the security context of the service account, which typically runs with SYSTEM privileges on Windows. The weakness aligns with [CWE-276] Incorrect Default Permissions and represents a local privilege escalation primitive on affected endpoints.
Root Cause
The root cause is the application creating the iMateBookAssistant named pipe without restrictive access control. Windows named pipes accept a SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure during creation. When developers omit a tailored Discretionary Access Control List (DACL) or supply a permissive descriptor, the pipe inherits broad access rights, allowing any authenticated user to interact with privileged endpoints.
Attack Vector
An attacker authenticated to the local machine connects to the named pipe and issues crafted IPC messages that the privileged Honor PC Manager service processes. The vulnerability requires low privileges and no user interaction. Because the named pipe is reachable from any local session, the path is reliable for converting initial code execution as a standard user into SYSTEM-level access. A public proof-of-concept is hosted in the GitHub PoC Repository.
No verified exploit code is reproduced here. Refer to the linked repository for the technical demonstration of the named pipe abuse sequence.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46014
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected client processes opening handles to \\.\pipe\iMateBookAssistant from non-Honor binaries.
- Spawning of cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or other interactive shells as child processes of Honor PC Manager service executables.
- New SYSTEM-level processes initiated shortly after a low-privileged user launches an unsigned or unknown binary.
Detection Strategies
- Audit named pipe creation and access events using Sysmon Event ID 17 and 18 filtered on the iMateBookAssistant pipe name.
- Correlate process lineage where a non-elevated user process connects to the pipe followed by privileged process creation under the Honor service.
- Hunt for unsigned binaries writing to \\.\pipe\iMateBookAssistant outside of the Honor installation directory.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable Windows Security event auditing for object access on named pipes and forward logs to a centralized SIEM.
- Track installations and versions of Honor PC Manager across the fleet and flag hosts running v16.0.0.118 or earlier.
- Alert on privilege escalation patterns where the parent process is a Honor service and the child process is a user-initiated executable.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46014
Immediate Actions Required
- Inventory all endpoints running Honor PC Manager and identify hosts on v16.0.0.118.
- Upgrade Honor PC Manager to the latest vendor-supplied release that hardens the iMateBookAssistant pipe permissions.
- Restrict local logon rights on systems where Honor PC Manager cannot be immediately updated or removed.
Patch Information
No vendor advisory URL is listed in the NVD record at the time of writing. Administrators should obtain the latest Honor PC Manager build from the official Honor support channel and validate that the iMateBookAssistant pipe is created with a restrictive DACL. Reference the GitHub PoC Repository to verify whether your installed version remains exploitable.
Workarounds
- Uninstall Honor PC Manager on systems where the utility is not required for business operations.
- Disable or stop the Honor PC Manager services that bind to the iMateBookAssistant named pipe until a fixed version is deployed.
- Apply application control policies to block untrusted binaries from connecting to local named pipes used by privileged services.
# Configuration example: stop and disable the Honor PC Manager service on Windows
sc.exe stop "HonorPCManagerService"
sc.exe config "HonorPCManagerService" start= disabled
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
