Falcon sensor for Linux: Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust
CVE-2025-1146 is a high-severity improper following of a certificate's chain of trust vulnerability in Falcon sensor for Linux from CrowdStrike, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 7.20.17308, 7.19.17221, 7.18.17131 as the first without the flaw, so updating Falcon sensor for Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.26% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Falcon sensor for Linux to 7.20.17308 or 7.19.17221 or 7.18.17131 or 7.17.17014, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Falcon Kubernetes Admission Controller to 7.20.1808 or 7.18.1605 or 7.17.1503 or 7.16.1403, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Falcon Container Sensor to 7.20.5908 or 7.19.5807 or 7.18.5705 or 7.17.5603, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on crowdstrike.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| CrowdStrike | Falcon sensor for Linux | 7.20 up to, but not including, 7.20.17308; 7.19 up to, but not including, 7.19.17221; 7.18 up to, but not including, 7.18.17131; 7.17 up to, but not including, 7.17.17014; 7.16 up to, but not including, 7.16.16909; 7.15 up to, but not including, 7.15.16806; 7.14 up to, but not including, 7.14.16705; 7.13 up to, but not including, 7.13.16606; and 4 more ranges | 7.20.17308, 7.19.17221, 7.18.17131, 7.17.17014, 7.16.16909, 7.15.16806 |
| CrowdStrike | Falcon Kubernetes Admission Controller | 7.20 up to, but not including, 7.20.1808; 7.18 up to, but not including, 7.18.1605; 7.17 up to, but not including, 7.17.1503; 7.16 up to, but not including, 7.16.1403; 7.14 up to, but not including, 7.14.1203; 7.13 up to, but not including, 7.13.1102; 7.12 up to, but not including, 7.12.1002; 7.11 up to, but not including, 7.11.904; and 2 more ranges | 7.20.1808, 7.18.1605, 7.17.1503, 7.16.1403, 7.14.1203, 7.13.1102 |
| CrowdStrike | Falcon Container Sensor | 7.20 up to, but not including, 7.20.5908; 7.19 up to, but not including, 7.19.5807; 7.18 up to, but not including, 7.18.5705; 7.17 up to, but not including, 7.17.5603; 7.16 up to, but not including, 7.16.5503; 7.15 up to, but not including, 7.15.5403; 7.14 up to, but not including, 7.14.5306; 7.13 up to, but not including, 7.13.5202; and 4 more ranges | 7.20.5908, 7.19.5807, 7.18.5705, 7.17.5603, 7.16.5503, 7.15.5403 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
Official description
CrowdStrike uses industry-standard TLS (transport layer security) to secure communications from the Falcon sensor to the CrowdStrike cloud. CrowdStrike has identified a validation logic error in the Falcon sensor for Linux, Falcon Kubernetes Admission Controller, and Falcon Container Sensor where our TLS connection routine to the CrowdStrike cloud can incorrectly process server certificate validation. This could allow an attacker with the ability to control network traffic to potentially conduct a man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attack. CrowdStrike identified this issue internally and released a security fix in all Falcon sensor for Linux, Falcon Kubernetes Admission Controller, and Falcon Container Sensor versions 7.06 and above. CrowdStrike identified this issue through our longstanding, rigorous security review process, which has been continually strengthened with deeper source code analysis and ongoing program enhancements as part of our commitment to security resilience. CrowdStrike has no indication of any exploitation of this issue in the wild. CrowdStrike has leveraged its world class threat hunting and intelligence capabilities to actively monitor for signs of abuse or usage of this flaw and will continue to do so. Windows and Mac sensors are not affected by this.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust
The product does not follow, or incorrectly follows, the chain of trust for a certificate back to a trusted root certificate.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Ensure that proper certificate checking is included in the system design.
- Understand, and properly implement all checks necessary to ensure the integrity of certificate trust integrity.
- If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the full chain of trust.
More Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust vulnerabilities (CWE-296)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
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