CVE-2025-4638

Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl

Critical · published May 14, 2025

CVSS v4.0
9.2
EPSS
1%
Percentile
45.4
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

🔥 An improper pointer arithmetic in zlib could let attackers unleash chaos on your PointCloudLibrary (PCL) applications! Think of zlib as a chef in a restaurant. If the chef miscalculates the recipe measurements, it could lead to a dish that’s either inedible or even explosive — that’s what this flaw can do to your software! An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause undefined behavior in your applications, leading to crashes or even arbitrary code execution. This could compromise the integrity of your data and put your system at the mercy of malicious actions!

Put simply

Think of zlib as a chef in a restaurant. If the chef miscalculates the recipe measurements, it could lead to a dish that’s either inedible or even explosive — that’s what this flaw can do to your software! This vulnerability arises from improper pointer arithmetic in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled in older versions of PointCloudLibrary. If a malicious actor can manipulate this, it results in unpredictable behavior in applications that rely on it.

What to do

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause undefined behavior in your applications, leading to crashes or even arbitrary code execution. This could compromise the integrity of your data and put your system at the mercy of malicious actions! To secure your environment, make sure to upgrade your PointCloudLibrary to version 1.14.0 or later. If you must use an older version, ensure that the system zlib is utilized by not setting WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. Always keep your software dependencies up to date! You've got this! By following these steps, you'll help keep your applications safe and sound. 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v4.0
9.2 · CRITICAL
Vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber
EPSS
0.00552 · 45.4th percentile
Published
2025-05-14T17:59Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 14 MAY 17:59Z
    Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl
    cvelistv5