Polkit: xml policy file with a large number of nested elements may lead to out-of-bounds write
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2025-7519 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2025-07-14 14:15:25 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-30 02:16:25 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in polkit. When processing an XML policy with 32 or more nested elements in depth, an out-of-bounds write can be triggered. This issue can lead to a crash or other unexpected behavior, and arbitrary code execution is not discarded. To exploit this flaw, a high-privilege account is needed as it's required to place the malicious policy file properly. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.7 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.001840000 probability, percentile 0.081880000 (date 2026-07-01)
Problem Types: CWE-787 | CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.7 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.7 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
HighUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 10.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 6.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 7.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 8.0 | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Redhat | Enterprise Linux | 9.0 | All | All | All |
| Application | Redhat | Openshift Container Platform | 4.0 | All | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/polkit-org/polkit/pull/570 | [email protected] | github.com | Patch |
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | Issue Tracking |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-7519 | [email protected] | access.redhat.com | Vendor Advisory |
| github.com/polkit-org/polkit/commit/107d3801361b9f9084f78710178e683391f1... | [email protected] | github.com | Patch |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Red Hat would like to thank Mohamed Maatallah (Independent security researcher) for reporting this issue. (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2025-07-11T21:18:25.825Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2025-07-11T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: There's no known mitigation to this vulnerability other than avoiding the implementation of unknown or untrusted polkit policy files to the system.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.