# CVE-2025-0686: Grub2: romfs: integer overflow when handling symlinks may lead to heap based out-of-bounds write when reading dat

Status: published. Published: 2025-03-03. Updated: 2026-11-05.

A flaw was found in grub2. When performing a symlink lookup from a romfs filesystem, grub's romfs filesystem module uses user-controlled parameters from the filesystem geometry to determine the internal buffer size, however, it improperly checks for integer overflows. A maliciously crafted filesystem may lead some of those buffer size calculations to overflow, causing it to perform a grub_malloc() operation with a smaller size than expected. As a result, the grub_romfs_read_symlink() may cause out-of-bounds writes when the calling grub_disk_read() function. This issue may be leveraged to corrupt grub's internal critical data and can result in arbitrary code execution by-passing secure boot protections.

## Remediation

- workaround: Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability. (source: CNA: redhat)

## Affected products and versions

-  /  (grub2): ≥ 0; ≤ 2.12 (affected, semver). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (grub2): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (grub2): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (grub2): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (grub2): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 (openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 (openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 6.4 (medium); CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H; source: CNA: redhat

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.29% as of 2026-11-05; percentile 21.46%

- SSVC: exploitation none; automatable no; technical impact total; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: CWE-787

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-0686 (CNA: redhat; vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2346121 (CNA: redhat; issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2025-02/msg00024.html (CNA: redhat)

## Provenance

- CNA: redhat: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-0686; retrieved 2026-11-05; source updated 2026-11-05

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2025-0686; retrieved 2026-11-05; source updated Not reported

Revision: a2427ff9f9acab714481f3a9c0160564f3c40850633be2927df66e479bb56036

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2025-0686

## Agent and API access

Public CVE pages, Markdown, and JSON are free to read without an account or API key.

- Public catalog: https://y2.dev/cve/index.json. Follow nextCursor with the same search, filters, sort, and limit (1–100). A null cursor marks the end.

- WebMCP: search_cve_disclosures, get_cve_disclosure, get_cve_page_markdown, get_y2_cve_access. Available in compatible browsers.

- Cyber API: https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves and https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves/{cveId}.

- Y2 Pro or Elite: create a workspace API key with the intel:cyber scope and send Authorization: Bearer <Y2_API_KEY>. Setup: https://y2.dev/docs/api/create-key.

- x402: Pay per request without an account or API key. Omit Authorization, read the HTTP 402 PAYMENT-REQUIRED challenge, validate its current requirements, and retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE through an authorized payment client. These browser tools never make payments. Guide: https://y2.dev/docs/api/x402.

- OpenAPI: https://y2.dev/api/openapi.yaml. Agent access metadata: https://y2.dev/cve/agent.json.

Collected public records only. Check source status for coverage and freshness.