CVE-2025-32438
NixOS systemd.shutdownRamfs Privilege Escalation
Description
make-initrd-ng is a tool for copying binaries and their dependencies. Local privilege escalation affecting all NixOS users. With systemd.shutdownRamfs.enable enabled (the default) a local user is able to create a program that will be executed by root during shutdown. Patches exist for NixOS 24.11 and 25.05 / unstable. As a workaround, set systemd.shutdownRamfs.enable = false;.
INFO
Published Date :
April 15, 2025, 8:15 p.m.
Last Modified :
April 16, 2025, 1:25 p.m.
Source :
[email protected]
Remotely Exploitable :
No
Impact Score :
6.0
Exploitability Score :
2.0
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2025-32438
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2025-32438.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2025-32438 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2025-32438 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 15, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description make-initrd-ng is a tool for copying binaries and their dependencies. Local privilege escalation affecting all NixOS users. With systemd.shutdownRamfs.enable enabled (the default) a local user is able to create a program that will be executed by root during shutdown. Patches exist for NixOS 24.11 and 25.05 / unstable. As a workaround, set systemd.shutdownRamfs.enable = false;. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-378 Added CWE CWE-379 Added Reference https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/commit/b17590193d8e5697000c23c66afcf11e1753734d Added Reference https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/commit/fbf76bf72b161b9f4ab97704a8258776d5f3ffba Added Reference https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/security/advisories/GHSA-m7pq-h9p4-8rr4
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-32438 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-32438
weaknesses.