CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-59039NVD status: Deferred

prebid-universal-creative: Embedded Malicious Code

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-59039 is a critical-severity embedded malicious code vulnerability in prebid-universal-creative from Prebid, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.3 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected prebid-universal-creative versions: = 1.17.3. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.34% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of prebid-universal-creative you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Prebidprebid-universal-creative= 1.17.3Not stated

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
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Attack requirements
NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

Prebid Universal Creative (PUC) is a JavaScript API to render multiple formats. Npm users of PUC 1.17.3 or PUC latest were briefly affected by crypto-related malware. This includes the extremely popular jsdelivr hosting of this file. The maintainers of PUC unpublished version 1.17.3. Users should see Prebid.js 9 release notes for suggestions on moving off the deprecated workflow of using the PUC or pointing to a dynamic version of it. PUC users pointing to latest should transition to 1.17.2 as soon as possible to avoid similar attacks in the future.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Embedded Malicious Code

The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Remove the malicious code and start an effort to ensure that no more malicious code exists. This may require a detailed review of all code, as it is possible to hide a serious attack in only one or two lines of code. These lines may be located almost anywhere in an application and may have been intentionally obfuscated by the attacker.

More Embedded Malicious Code vulnerabilities (CWE-506)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Embedded Malicious Code vulnerabilities

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