CVE Alert: CVE-2025-62229 – Red Hat – Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Risk verdict

High risk: local use-after-free in Xorg/Xwayland Present processing could enable code execution or a crash; patching should be treated as a priority once updates are available.

Why this matters

Impact affects desktop and server deployments running X11/Xwayland on Red Hat platforms; an attacker with local access could compromise a user session, gain code execution, or disrupt services. In shared environments (VDI, remote sessions, or multi-user workstations) the potential for lateral impact and persistence increases.

Most likely attack path

Exploitation requires local access with no user interaction. An attacker can trigger the Present notification flow to provoke a use-after-free, leading to memory corruption, potential code execution, or Denial of Service. With local privileges already present, impact to integrity and availability could be substantial; remote spread is unlikely due to the local vector (AV:L, PR:L, UI:N, S:U).

Who is most exposed

Workstations and servers running Xorg/Xwayland, including systems using tigervnc or remote desktop access on RHEL 6–9, are central exposure points.

Detection ideas

• Crashes/core dumps in Xorg/Xwayland associated with Present extension handling
• SIGSEGV or heap-related traces in Xorg/Xwayland logs (journalctl, /var/log/Xorg.0.log)
• Recurrent instability during Present notification activity
• Local access attempts correlating with crash windows

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply Red Hat advisories; update xorg-x11-server-Xwayland and tigervnc to patched versions.
• If patching is not yet available, restrict local access where feasible and harden host controls; consider isolated or VM-based sessions.
• Enable memory protection basics (ASLR, PIE/stack canaries where applicable) and review crash analytics pipelines.
• Change-management: schedule patch window and perform regression testing.
• If KEV true or EPSS ≥ 0.5, treat as priority 1; otherwise treat as high.