CVE-2025-67859: TLP Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-67859 Overview

CVE-2025-67859 is an Improper Authentication vulnerability (CWE-287) in TLP, a popular Linux power management utility. This flaw allows local users to arbitrarily control the power profile in use as well as the daemon's log settings without proper authentication. The vulnerability affects TLP versions from 1.9 before 1.9.1.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can manipulate system power profiles and logging configurations without authentication, potentially enabling denial of service through battery drain, system performance degradation, or covering tracks by modifying log settings.

Affected Products

• TLP versions 1.9 to 1.9.1 (exclusive)
• Linux systems using TLP for power management
• openSUSE and SUSE distributions with affected TLP packages

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-14 - CVE CVE-2025-67859 published to NVD
• 2026-01-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-67859

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication controls in TLP's policy configuration. TLP is a command-line utility designed to optimize battery life on Linux laptops by applying power-saving settings. The improper authentication flaw allows unprivileged local users to bypass security controls and modify critical daemon configurations.

The vulnerability enables attackers to change power profiles, which can affect system performance, battery consumption, and hardware behavior. Additionally, the ability to modify log settings could allow attackers to disable logging or alter log levels to evade detection during malicious activities.

Root Cause

The root cause is an improper authentication mechanism in TLP's PolicyKit (polkit) configuration. The authentication bypass occurs because the polkit rules do not properly verify user credentials or privileges before allowing changes to power profiles and logging settings. This represents a classic CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) vulnerability where security-critical operations can be performed without adequate identity verification.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local, requiring the attacker to have some level of access to the target system. The exploitation does not require any special privileges (PR:N), user interaction (UI:N), or complex attack conditions (AC:L).

An attacker with local access can invoke TLP's D-Bus interface or command-line tools to modify power management settings. This could be leveraged to:

1. Force the system into high-performance mode to rapidly drain battery
2. Set aggressive power-saving that degrades system performance
3. Modify or disable logging to cover malicious activities
4. Create conditions favorable for other attacks by manipulating hardware states

For detailed technical analysis of the PolicyKit bypass mechanism, refer to the openSUSE TLP Policy Bypass Analysis.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-67859

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected changes to TLP power profiles or configurations
• Modified TLP log settings or missing log entries
• Unusual D-Bus messages to TLP service from non-privileged users
• Unexpected battery drain patterns or system performance changes

Detection Strategies

• Monitor D-Bus communications to the TLP daemon for unauthorized requests
• Audit TLP configuration file changes in /etc/tlp.conf and /etc/tlp.d/
• Track TLP service invocations using systemd journal logs
• Implement file integrity monitoring on TLP configuration directories

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for PolicyKit authentication events
• Set up alerts for TLP configuration changes outside maintenance windows
• Monitor for repeated failed and successful TLP command executions
• Review system power profile changes in audit logs regularly

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-67859

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade TLP to version 1.9.1 or later immediately
• Review current TLP configurations for unauthorized modifications
• Audit system logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Restrict local user access on systems running vulnerable TLP versions

Patch Information

The vulnerability is addressed in TLP version 1.9.1. Organizations should update their TLP installations to this version or later. For SUSE and openSUSE users, updated packages are available through the official repositories. Refer to the SUSE Bugzilla entry for distribution-specific patch information.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the TLP D-Bus interface using custom polkit rules requiring authentication
• Limit local user access on affected systems until patching is complete
• Monitor and lock down TLP configuration files with strict file permissions
• Consider temporarily disabling TLP on critical systems until updated

# Workaround: Restrict TLP configuration file permissions
sudo chmod 600 /etc/tlp.conf
sudo chmod 700 /etc/tlp.d/
sudo chown root:root /etc/tlp.conf /etc/tlp.d/