Security Bulletin
Summary
Vulnerabilities in RPM could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code (CVE-2025-3277, CVE-2025-29087) or cause a denial of service (CVE-2025-29088). RPM is used by AIX for package management.
Vulnerability Details
CVEID: CVE-2025-3277
DESCRIPTION: An integer overflow can be triggered in SQLite’s `concat_ws()` function. The resulting, truncated integer is then used to allocate a buffer. When SQLite then writes the resulting string to the buffer, it uses the original, untruncated size and thus a wild Heap Buffer overflow of size ~4GB can be triggered. This can result in arbitrary code execution.
CWE: CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow
CVSS Source: cve-coordination@google.com
CVSS Base score: 6.9
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/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)
CVEID: CVE-2025-29088
DESCRIPTION: In SQLite 3.49.0 before 3.49.1, certain argument values to sqlite3_db_config (in the C-language API) can cause a denial of service (application crash). An sz*nBig multiplication is not cast to a 64-bit integer, and consequently some memory allocations may be incorrect.
CWE: CWE-190: Integer Overflow or Wraparound
CVSS Source: cve@mitre.org
CVSS Base score: 5.6
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L)
CVEID: CVE-2025-29087
DESCRIPTION: In SQLite 3.44.0 through 3.49.0 before 3.49.1, the concat_ws() SQL function can cause memory to be written beyond the end of a malloc-allocated buffer. If the separator argument is attacker-controlled and has a large string (e.g., 2MB or more), an integer overflow occurs in calculating the size of the result buffer, and thus malloc may not allocate enough memory.
CWE: CWE-190: Integer Overflow or Wraparound
CVSS Source: NVD
CVSS Base score: 7.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)
Affected Products and Versions
| Affected Product(s) | Version(s) |
| AIX | 7.2 |
| AIX | 7.3 |
| VIOS | 3.1 |
| VIOS | 4.1 |
The vulnerabilities in the following filesets are being addressed:
| Fileset | Lower Level | Upper Level |
| rpm.rte | 4.15.1.1000 | 4.15.1.1015 |
| rpm.rte | 4.15.1.2000 | 4.15.1.2013 |
| rpm.rte | 4.18.1.2000 | 4.18.1.2005 |
Note:
A. Latest level of RPM fileset is available from the web download site:
https://www.ibm.com/resources/mrs/assets?source=aixbp
To find out whether the affected filesets are installed on your systems, refer to the lslpp command found in AIX user's guide.
Example: lslpp -L | grep -i rpm.rte
Remediation/Fixes
FIXES
IBM strongly recommends addressing the vulnerability now.
The AIX and VIOS fixes can be downloaded via https from:
https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/rpm_fix3.tar
The link above is to a tar file containing this signed advisory, install packages, and OpenSSL signatures for each package. The fixes below include prerequisite checking. This will enforce the correct mapping between the fixes and AIX Technology Levels.
To extract the fixes from the tar file:
tar xvf rpm_fix3.tar
For AIX 7.2 TL5:
tar xvf rpm_fix3/rpm_41511016.tar
For AIX 7.3 TL1:
tar xvf rpm_fix3/rpm_41512014.tar
For AIX 7.3 TL2 and TL3 and VIOS 4.1:
tar xvf rpm_fix3/rpm_41812006.tar
| AIX Level | Fix |
| 7.2.5 | rpm.rte.4.15.1.1016 |
| 7.3.1 | rpm.rte.4.15.1.2014 |
| 7.3.2 | rpm.rte.4.18.1.2006 |
| 7.3.3 | rpm.rte.4.18.1.2006 |
| VIOS Level | Fix |
| 3.1.4 | rpm.rte.4.15.1.1016 |
| 4.1.0 | rpm.rte.4.15.1.2014 |
| 4.1.1 | rpm.rte.4.18.1.2006 |
IMPORTANT: If possible, it is recommended that a mksysb backup of the system be created. Verify it is both bootable and readable before proceeding.
Note that all the previously reported security vulnerability fixes are also included in above mentioned fileset level.
To preview the fix installation:
installp -apYd . rpm
To install the fix package:
installp -aXYd . rpm
Verify you have retrieved the fixes intact:
The checksums below were generated using the "openssl dgst -sha256 [file]" command as the following:
| openssl dgst -sha256 | filename |
| 6b68d47c6bf102ec290232cd06f8ef6a12f2a64c570904c2c887d4c2320b82ad | rpm.rte.4.15.1.1016 |
| 9a941cefc8af7bb7b0908c4e98e531ef1c3ab39eda5808a842bd53fab6c950a2 | rpm.rte.4.15.1.2014 |
| 6e0ace0f3fcd059387b50c1052a213d715389cf86bd3ba8ba02acdc686cbbb36 | rpm.rte.4.18.1.2006 |
These sums should match exactly. The OpenSSL signatures in the tar file and on this advisory can also be used to verify the integrity of the fixes. If the sums or signatures cannot be confirmed, contact IBM Support at http://ibm.com/support/ and describe the discrepancy.
openssl dgst -sha256 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [advisory_file].sig [advisory_file]
openssl dgst -sha256 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [ifix_file].sig [ifix_file]
Published advisory OpenSSL signature file location:
https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/rpm_advisory3.asc.sig
Workarounds and Mitigations
None
Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins
References
Acknowledgement
Change History
17 Jul 2025: Initial Publication
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.
Disclaimer
According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
17 July 2025
UID
ibm17239958