Multiple Vulnerabilities in Barebox Bootloader Expose Embedded Systems to Code Execution Risks
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Barebox, a widely used bootloader for embedded systems, has released version 2025.01.0 to address multiple critical vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to bypass secure boot and gain code execution. The vulnerabilities, discovered by Richard Weinberger and David Gstir of sigma star gmbh, affect the bootloader’s handling of SquashFS filesystems and memory allocation.
Barebox, often described as the “Swiss Army Knife for bare metal,” is a versatile bootloader supporting various architectures, including x86, ARM, MIPS, and RISC-V. Its flexibility makes it popular for both development and production systems. However, the newly discovered vulnerabilities pose a significant risk to systems relying on Barebox for secure boot.
The most concerning issues relate to Barebox’s SquashFS implementation. CVE-2024-57260 highlights “multiple vulnerabilities in Barebox’s SquashFS due to missing patches from Linux.” This means that Barebox’s SquashFS support was lacking crucial security updates already available in the Linux kernel, leaving it exposed to known exploits.
Further compounding the problem are two integer overflow vulnerabilities: CVE-2024-57261 in Barebox’s memory allocator and CVE-2024-57262 in Barebox’s SquashFS symlink resolution function. Integer overflows can lead to memory corruption, potentially allowing attackers to control program execution.
The combined impact of these vulnerabilities is severe. As the advisory explains, “An attacker capable of modifying ext4 or SquashFS filesystem data structures can exploit multiple memory corruption vulnerabilities in Barebox.” For systems employing verified boot, these flaws effectively break the chain of trust. An attacker could manipulate filesystem data to inject malicious code, which Barebox would then execute during the boot process. Critically, the advisory also notes that CVE-2024-57261, the memory allocator overflow, “may also be exploited in Barebox through other subsystems than ext4 or SquashFS,” broadening the potential attack surface.
The implications for embedded systems are substantial. Devices ranging from industrial controllers to network appliances and IoT devices could be vulnerable if they use Barebox and haven’t been updated. An attacker exploiting these flaws could potentially gain complete control of the affected device.
Users are strongly urged to upgrade to Barebox version v2025.01.0 or newer immediately. This update contains the necessary patches to address all three vulnerabilities. Given the severity of the issues, applying this update should be a top priority for anyone using Barebox in their embedded systems.
