Overview
CVE-2025-58311 is a Medium severity Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability affecting the USB driver module. This flaw, reported on 2025-11-28, can be exploited to compromise both the availability and confidentiality of affected systems. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the USB driver, leading to a situation where a program attempts to access memory after it has been freed.
Technical Details
The root cause of CVE-2025-58311 lies in a race condition or improper synchronization within the USB driver’s memory management routines. Specifically, a USB device disconnection or error handling routine might prematurely free a memory buffer while another part of the driver is still referencing or attempting to access it. This can lead to:
- Code Execution: An attacker might be able to overwrite the freed memory with malicious code, leading to arbitrary code execution within the kernel context.
- Denial of Service (DoS): Corruption of memory can cause the driver or the entire system to crash, resulting in a denial of service.
- Information Disclosure: The freed memory might contain sensitive data that could be leaked to an attacker who can then read the memory location.
CVSS Analysis
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) assigned a score of 5.8 to CVE-2025-58311, reflecting its Medium severity. The CVSS vector likely considers the following factors:
- Attack Vector (AV): Likely Local (L) or Adjacent Network (A), as exploiting a USB driver often requires physical or nearby access to a vulnerable device.
- Attack Complexity (AC): Potentially High (H) due to the timing-sensitive nature of UAF vulnerabilities and the need for precise memory manipulation.
- Privileges Required (PR): Possibly Low (L) or None (N), depending on whether the vulnerable USB functionality is accessible to unprivileged users.
- User Interaction (UI): None (N) or Required (R), depending on whether user action (e.g., plugging in a malicious USB device) is needed to trigger the vulnerability.
- Scope (S): Changed (C) because the vulnerability potentially allows an attacker to gain elevated privileges.
- Confidentiality Impact (C): Low (L) or High (H), depending on the type of data that can be leaked.
- Integrity Impact (I): None (N) or Low (L), Integrity might be affected if the attacker able to overwrite the memory with the malicious code.
- Availability Impact (A): High (H) due to the risk of system crashes.
A more detailed CVSS vector would provide a more precise understanding of the vulnerability’s exploitability and impact.
Possible Impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-58311 can have severe consequences:
- System Instability: Kernel crashes leading to blue screens or system freezes.
- Data Theft: Unauthorized access to sensitive information stored in memory.
- Privilege Escalation: An attacker could potentially gain root or administrator privileges on the affected system.
- Malware Installation: The vulnerability can be used as an entry point for installing malware on the system.
Mitigation or Patch Steps
To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-58311, apply the following steps:
- Install the official patch: The primary mitigation is to install the security patch released by the affected vendor. In this case, refer to the Huawei Security Bulletin for specific instructions and download links.
- Update your operating system: Regularly update your operating system to receive the latest security fixes and driver updates.
- Be cautious with USB devices: Avoid plugging in untrusted USB devices from unknown sources.
- Implement USB whitelisting: If possible, configure your system to only allow trusted USB devices.
- Monitor system logs: Regularly review system logs for any suspicious activity related to USB device connections or driver errors.
