Secure Boot bypass via translation-buffer integer overflow
Published Feb 19, 2025 · Updated Jun 29, 2026
Out-of-bounds write in GNU GRUB 2.12 and earlier allows local users with high privileges to bypass Secure Boot via a crafted .mo file. grub_gettext_getstr_from_position() calculates the translation buffer without rejecting integer wraparound, so translation data overwrites an undersized heap allocation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and a malicious language catalog available during boot; corrupted GRUB heap data can defeat Secure Boot protections.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds write in GNU GRUB 2.12 and earlier allows local users with high privileges to bypass Secure Boot via a crafted .mo file. grub_gettext_getstr_from_position() calculates the translation buffer without rejecting integer wraparound, so translation data overwrites an undersized heap allocation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and a malicious language catalog available during boot; corrupted GRUB heap data can defeat Secure Boot protections.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-45777
- Published
- Feb 19, 2025
- Updated
- Jun 29, 2026
- Vendor
- The GnuPG Project
- Product
- GNU GRUB
- Classifications
- CWE-787
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 19, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 29, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=0 <=2.12
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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