Discover critical CVE-2025-60359, CVE-2025-60360, CVE-2025-60361 vulnerabilities in Radare2 for Ubuntu. Our in-depth security analysis covers patched versions, Ubuntu Pro requirements for LTS, and essential remediation steps for system administrators and cybersecurity professionals.
A Critical Security Alert for Ubuntu Users and Cybersecurity Teams
Is your Ubuntu system's cybersecurity posture compromised by a critical reverse engineering tool? A recently disclosed security advisory, USN-7915-1, reveals severe memory leak vulnerabilities within Radare2, the ubiquitous free and advanced command-line hexadecimal editor.
These flaws, identified as CVE-2025-60359, CVE-2025-60360, and CVE-2025-60361, could allow a remote or local attacker to trigger a debilitating denial-of-service (DoS) condition, destabilizing systems and disrupting operations.
This comprehensive analysis, crafted for system administrators, DevSecOps engineers, and cybersecurity analysts, delves into the technical specifics, impacted distributions, and the urgent patch management protocol required to mitigate this threat.
Executive Summary: Understanding the Severity of the Radare2 Flaws
The Ubuntu Security Team has classified multiple memory corruption issues within the Radare2 framework. Memory leaks, a common yet dangerous class of software vulnerability, occur when a program fails to release allocated memory after use.
Over time, this can exhaust available system resources (RAM), leading to application crashes, system instability, and complete service unavailability—the hallmark of a DoS attack.
For security professionals relying on Radare2 for binary analysis, malware dissection, or vulnerability research, these flaws are particularly insidious as they compromise the very tools used for defense.
Affected Ubuntu Distributions:
The vulnerabilities impact a wide range of Ubuntu releases, emphasizing the need for broad vulnerability management:
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat - Long-Term Support)
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa - Long-Term Support)
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver - Long-Term Support)
Technical Deep Dive: The Nature of Memory Leak Vulnerabilities
Radare2 is an indispensable open-source toolkit for reverse engineering and binary analysis, used extensively in cybersecurity operations, software development, and digital forensics. The discovered vulnerabilities reside in its core memory management functions.
Why Are These Memory Leaks Critical?
In the context of a command-line hex editor and debugger like Radare2, which processes potentially malicious or complex binary files, uncontrolled memory consumption can be triggered intentionally.An adversary could craft a specific binary input that, when analyzed, causes Radare2 to continuously allocate memory without freeing it.
This would not only crash the Radare2 session but could also impair the host operating system's performance, affecting other critical services—a significant risk for servers and development workstations.
This scenario underscores a fundamental principle in application security: tools within the security toolchain themselves must be rigorously hardened to prevent them from becoming attack vectors.
Patch Management and Remediation Instructions
Immediate action is required to secure affected systems. The corrective measure involves updating the radare2 package to the patched versions specified by Canonical.
Update Command:
Execute the standard package update commands via terminal:
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade radare2
A standard system update will automatically install the corrected version.
Patched Package Versions:
For precise version control, especially in enterprise environments, the following patched builds have been released:
Crucial Note for LTS Users: For the Long-Term Support (LTS) releases—24.04, 20.04, and 18.04—the security patches are delivered via the Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) channel. Access to these vital updates requires an active Ubuntu Pro subscription.
This model highlights the importance of proactive cybersecurity budgeting and software asset management for maintaining enterprise-grade security postures.
Broader Implications for Vulnerability Management and DevSecOps
This advisory is a stark reminder that the software supply chain includes foundational analysis tools. Integrating software composition analysis (SCA) and continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities within your development and security tooling is as critical as patching the operating system itself. Organizations should:
Inventory all security and analysis tools like Radare2, GDB, and Ghidra.
Subscribe to official security feeds such as the Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) and the National Vulnerability Database (NVD).
Integrate patch verification into their CI/CD pipelines to ensure tools are updated before use in automated analysis tasks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is Radare2 used for, and who is most at risk from these vulnerabilities?
A: Radare2 is a reverse engineering framework used for disassembling, debugging, and analyzing binary files (like executables). Cybersecurity researchers, malware analysts, and software developers are primary users. They are at greatest risk because exploiting these flaws could crash their analysis environment during critical investigations.Q2: I'm on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Am I affected?
A: According to the official USN-7915-1 notice, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is not listed among the affected distributions. However, it is always recommended to check your system's installed version (radare2 --version) and maintain regular updates.Q3: What's the difference between a standard update and an Ubuntu Pro/ESM update?
A: Standard updates for an LTS release cover the initial 5-year "Basic Security Maintenance" period. Ubuntu Pro extends this with ESM, providing critical security patches for the full 10-year lifecycle. For enterprise security compliance, Ubuntu Pro is often essential.Q4: Where can I find more technical details about the CVEs?
A: You can reference the primary sources:Official Advisory: https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7915-1
CVE Details: MITRE CVE-2025-60359, CVE-2025-60360, CVE-2025-60361 entries.
Conclusion and Next Steps for Enhanced System Security
The Radare2 memory leak vulnerabilities detailed in USN-7915-1 present a tangible denial-of-service threat that requires prompt remediation. By updating to the specified patched versions—noting the Ubuntu Pro requirement for older LTS releases—administrators can close this security gap.
Action: Review all systems in your inventory running Ubuntu and the Radare2 package. Prioritize updates based on system criticality. Consider an Ubuntu Pro subscription for extended support on LTS deployments to ensure a consistent and secure software lifecycle. For continuous protection, automate your patch management strategy and subscribe to vulnerability alerts.
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