CVE-2025-1568: Critical Access Control Vulnerability in Google ChromeOS

Overview

The vulnerability in question, CVE-2025-1568, has been discovered in the Gerrit chromiumos project configuration in Google ChromeOS 131.0.6778.268. This vulnerability is particularly critical as it allows a registered Gerrit account owner to inject malicious code into ChromeOS projects. This security flaw could potentially lead to Remote Code Execution (RCE) and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, making it a serious threat to the security integrity of Google ChromeOS.
This vulnerability affects all users running ChromeOS 131.0.6778.268, with the potential for system compromise or data leakage. The severity of the vulnerability makes it pertinent for users to understand the threat and take the necessary steps to mitigate it.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-1568
Severity: Critical, CVSS score 8.8
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low (A registered Gerrit account)
User Interaction: Required (Editing trusted pipelines)
Impact: Potential system compromise, data leakage, Remote Code Execution and Denial of Service.

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Google ChromeOS | 131.0.6778.268

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability leverages insufficient access controls and misconfigurations in Gerrit’s project.config. An attacker with a registered Gerrit account can exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious code into the ChromeOS projects. This is achieved by editing the trusted pipelines, where insufficient access controls allow for unauthorized changes. If successful, the attacker could potentially achieve Remote Code Execution, enabling them to run arbitrary code on the affected system, or cause a Denial of Service, rendering the service unavailable.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:

POST /project.config/edit HTTP/1.1
Host: gerrit.chromiumos.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
{
"pipeline": {
"name": "trusted-pipeline",
"code": "malicious_code_here"
}
}

In the above example, the attacker sends a POST request to the Gerrit project.config edit endpoint. They modify the trusted pipeline with malicious code, exploiting the vulnerability.
Remember, this is a conceptual example and the actual exploit may vary based on the specific details of the system configuration and the attacker’s approach.