Process crash via asynchronous crypto exception handling
Published May 19, 2025 · Updated May 28, 2025
Improper error handling in Node.js allows remote attackers to crash the runtime through asynchronous cryptographic signing operations. SignTraits::DeriveBits invokes JavaScript exception handling from a background crypto worker when untrusted signing or verification inputs cause an OpenSSL error. Reachability requires an application to pass untrusted data or keys into an asynchronous sign or verify operation; exploitation interrupts only that process.
Summary
What happened
Improper error handling in Node.js allows remote attackers to crash the runtime through asynchronous cryptographic signing operations. SignTraits::DeriveBits invokes JavaScript exception handling from a background crypto worker when untrusted signing or verification inputs cause an OpenSSL error. Reachability requires an application to pass untrusted data or keys into an asynchronous sign or verify operation; exploitation interrupts only that process.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-23166
- Published
- May 19, 2025
- Updated
- May 28, 2025
- Vendor
- Node.js
- Product
- Node.js
- Classifications
- CWE-248, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 19, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 28, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=10.0 <10.*
- Affected versionversion=11.0 <11.*
- Affected versionversion=12.0 <12.*
- Affected versionversion=13.0 <13.*
- Affected versionversion=14.0 <14.*
- Affected versionversion=15.0 <15.*
- Affected versionversion=16.0 <16.*
- Affected versionversion=17.0 <17.*
- Affected versionversion=18.0 <18.*
- Affected versionversion=19.0 <19.*
- Affected versionversion=20.0 <=20.19.1
- Affected versionversion=21.0 <21.*
- Affected versionversion=22.0 <=22.15.0
- Affected versionversion=23.0 <=23.11.0
- Affected versionversion=24.0 <=24.0.1
- Affected versionversion=4.0 <4.*
- Affected versionversion=5.0 <5.*
- Affected versionversion=6.0 <6.*
- Affected versionversion=7.0 <7.*
- Affected versionversion=8.0 <8.*
- Affected versionversion=9.0 <9.*
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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