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ncurses EUVDEUVD-2025-18429

| CVE-2025-6141 MEDIUM
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2025-06-16 cna@vuldb.com
Buffer Overflow
4.8
CVSS 4.0 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain local shell access
  2. Delivery
    Craft malicious termcap entry
  3. Exploit
    Trigger termcap parsing
  4. Execution
    Overflow stack buffer
  5. Impact
    Crash application

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-119
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Configuration Dependency management, component inventory
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

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Exploitation Conditions

Local access with low privileges (PR:L) is required. The attacker must be able to supply a crafted termcap entry to the ncurses library, typically via environment variables or configuration files. No user interaction needed beyond the attacker's own actions. The vulnerability is not remotely exploitable.
Impact

CVSS 4.0 vector AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L indicates local low-privilege access required, no confidentiality or integrity impact, only low availability impact. EPSS score is 0.03% (low probability). No KEV listing or public exploit identified. SSVC decision: exploitation status 'none', automatable 'no', technical impact 'partial'. Overall risk is low; not a priority for most environments.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with low privileges could craft a malicious termcap entry and trigger the buffer overflow when ncurses processes it, causing a denial of service (crash) of applications using ncurses. No public exploit code is known.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Jul 26, 2026

Stack-based buffer overflow in GNU ncurses up to 6.5-20250322 allows local attackers to cause a denial of service via crafted termcap data. The vulnerability is in the postprocess_termcap function and requires local access with low privileges. No public exploit or active exploitation identified; EPSS score is low (0.03%).

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 14, 2026 - 21:59 CVSS 3.3

RemediationAI

Upgrade to ncurses version 6.5-20250329 or later, which contains the fix. The patch is available from the vendor. For systems where immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict local access to trusted users only, as the attack requires local access. No workaround other than limiting local user capabilities.

Affected VersionsENISA

ncurses 6.5-20250322

Affected Packages

euvd ncurses no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-119) in the postprocess_termcap function within tinfo/parse_entry.c of GNU ncurses. ncurses is a library for terminal-independent screen handling, widely used in Unix-like systems. The termcap database describes terminal capabilities; processing malformed termcap entries can overflow a stack buffer. CPE data indicates ncurses versions up to 6.5-20250322 are affected.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 4.8 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 3.3 LOW

Local attack, low privileges, low availability impact only.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Ubuntu LOW
SUSE 1.7 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Red Hat 3.3 LOW

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
Low
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Severity Changed
Jun 02, 2026 - 14:22 NVD
LOW MEDIUM
CVSS changed
Jun 02, 2026 - 14:22 NVD
3.3 (LOW) 4.8 (MEDIUM)
Patch released
Mar 31, 2026 - 21:13 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Jun 16, 2025 - 22:16 nvd
LOW 3.3
CVE Published
Jun 16, 2025 - 22:16 cve.org
MEDIUM 4.8

DescriptionCVE.org

A vulnerability has been found in GNU ncurses up to 6.5-20250322 and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function postprocess_termcap of the file tinfo/parse_entry.c. The manipulation leads to stack-based buffer overflow. The attack needs to be approached locally. Upgrading to version 6.5-20250329 is able to address this issue. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2025-6141 is a low-severity vulnerability in GNU ncurses (CVSS 3.3). The limited severity suggests constrained impact, typically requiring specific conditions or local access for exploitation. Apply vendor updates when available as part of routine maintenance.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch during routine maintenance. Standard security controls provide adequate interim protection.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 93% exploitable
Prevalence
High
ncurses is widely deployed in Linux/Unix systems
Threat Intel
1
1 source
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS CISA Vendor VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Low

Priority Score

34
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +24
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: +10
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Buffer Overflow HIGH

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Same weakness CWE-119 – Buffer Overflow

View all
CVE-2020-0796 CRITICAL POC
10.0
CVE-2017-11882 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2014-6332 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2015-2426 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2013-3918 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2023-4966 HIGH POC
7.5
CVE-2017-11774 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2013-3660 HIGH POC
7.8

Same technique Buffer Overflow

View all
CVE-2017-7269 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-5119 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-3113 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2011-2462 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2019-11043 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2009-0927 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2012-1889 HIGH POC
8.8

Vendor StatusVendor

Ubuntu

Priority: Low
ncurses
Release Status Version
noble needs-triage -
trusty needs-triage -
xenial needs-triage -
bionic needs-triage -
focal needs-triage -
jammy needs-triage -
upstream needs-triage -
oracular ignored end of life, was needs-triage
questing needs-triage -
plucky ignored end of life, was needs-triage

Debian

Bug #1107937
ncurses
Release Status Fixed Version Urgency
bullseye vulnerable 6.2+20201114-2+deb11u2 -
bookworm vulnerable 6.4-4 -
trixie vulnerable 6.5+20250216-2 -
forky, sid fixed 6.6+20251231-1 -
experimental fixed 6.5+20251115-1 -
(unstable) fixed 6.5+20251115-2 -

SUSE

Severity: Low
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 Fixed

Threat IntelligenceMISP

CISA Advisories
ICSA-26-188-05
Sources: CISA (public domain)

References

Advisories & patches
ADVISORY https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6141 ADVISORY https://vuldb.com/vuln/312610 ADVISORY https://www.gnu.org REF https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-089022.html REF https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-253495.html REF https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/NEWS.html#index-t20250329 REF https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2025-03/msg00107.html REF https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2025-03/msg00109.html REF https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-ncurses/2025-03/msg00114.html REF https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.312610 REF https://vuldb.com/?id.312610 REF https://vuldb.com/?submit.593000 REF https://www.gnu.org/

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