CVE-2025-9165: libtiff — Exploit & Fix

Description

A flaw has been found in LibTIFF 4.7.0. This affects the function _TIFFmallocExt/_TIFFCheckRealloc/TIFFHashSetNew/InitCCITTFax3 of the file tools/tiffcmp.c of the component tiffcmp. Executing manipulation can lead to memory leak. The attack is restricted to local execution. This attack is characterized by high complexity. It is indicated that the exploitability is difficult. The exploit has been published and may be used. There is ongoing doubt regarding the real existence of this vulnerability. This patch is called ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0. It is best practice to apply a patch to resolve this issue. A researcher disputes the security impact of this issue, because "this is a memory leak on a command line tool that is about to exit anyway". In the reply the project maintainer declares this issue as "a simple 'bug' when leaving the command line tool and (...) not a security issue at all".

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CVSS v3.1 Score

2.5

LOW

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-401 CWE-401

CWE-404 CWE-404

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
libtiff	libtiff	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/commit/ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0 https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728 https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/merge_requests/747 https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728#note_2709263214

Exploits

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FWhmkzksH8-qU0ZM6seBzGNB3aPnX3G8/view?usp=sharing https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728 https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728#note_2709263214

Other References

http://www.libtiff.org/ https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.320543 https://vuldb.com/?id.320543 https://vuldb.com/?submit.630506 https://vuldb.com/?submit.630507

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-9165? +

A flaw has been found in LibTIFF 4.7.0. This affects the function _TIFFmallocExt/_TIFFCheckRealloc/TIFFHashSetNew/InitCCITTFax3 of the file tools/tiffcmp.c of the component tiffcmp. Executing manipulation can lead to memory leak. The attack is restricted to local execution. This attack is characterized by high complexity. It is indicated that the exploitability is difficult. The exploit has been published and may be used. There is ongoing doubt regarding the real existence of this vulnerability. This patch is called ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0. It is best practice to apply a patch to resolve this issue. A researcher disputes the security impact of this issue, because "this is a memory leak on a command line tool that is about to exit anyway". In the reply the project maintainer declares this issue as "a simple 'bug' when leaving the command line tool and (...) not a security issue at all". It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 2.5 (LOW).

How severe is CVE-2025-9165? +

CVE-2025-9165 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 2.5 out of 10, rated LOW. This is a low-severity vulnerability with limited impact.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-9165? +

CVE-2025-9165 affects products from libtiff, specifically: libtiff. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-9165? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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