CVE-2025-4638
Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
CVE-2025-4638- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2025-14916
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
EUVD-2025-14916- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hg9g-m8wg-jv2x
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within...
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
GHSA-hg9g-m8wg-jv2x- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/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:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
CVE-2025-4638- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/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:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic.
Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
CVE-2025-4638- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2025-4638
A vulnerability exists in the inftrees.c component of the zlib library, which is bundled within the PointCloudLibrary (PCL). This issue may allow context-dependent attackers to cause undefined behavior by exploiting improper pointer arithmetic. Since version 1.14.0, PCL by default uses a zlib installation from the system, unless the user sets WITH_SYSTEM_ZLIB=FALSE. So this potential vulnerability is only relevant if the PCL version is older than 1.14.0 or the user specifically requests to not use the system zlib.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2025-4638- CVSS 4.0
- 9.2 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:H/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2025-0162 No score
Updated zsync packages fix security vulnerabilities
Improper Pointer Arithmetic in pcl. (CVE-2025-4638)
- Record
MGASA-2025-0162- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
zsyncMageia:9 |
before 0.6.2-11.1.mga9 | 0.6.2-11.1.mga9 |
pclUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.7.2-10build11.7.2-131.7.2-14build11.7.2-14build1.11.7.2-14ubuntu0.11.7.2-14ubuntu0.1+esm1 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.8.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu11.8.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu21.8.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu2.18.04.11.8.1+dfsg1-2ubuntu2.18.04.1+esm1 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.9.1+dfsg1-10ubuntu21.9.1+dfsg1-10ubuntu31.10.0+dfsg-4ubuntu21.10.0+dfsg-5ubuntu11.10.0+dfsg-5ubuntu1+esm11.10.0+dfsg-5ubuntu1+esm2 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.11.1+dfsg-1build11.12.0+dfsg-5build11.12.0+dfsg-61.12.1+dfsg-31.12.1+dfsg-3build11.12.1+dfsg-3ubuntu0.1~esm11.12.1+dfsg-3ubuntu0.1~esm2 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.13.0+dfsg-31.13.0+dfsg-3build11.13.0+dfsg-41.13.0+dfsg-4build21.13.0+dfsg-4build31.14.0+dfsg-11.14.0+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.14.0+dfsg-5ubuntu11.15.0+dfsg-21.15.0+dfsg-2build2 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.15.1+dfsg-21.15.1+dfsg-31.15.1+dfsg-3build1 |
None known |
pclUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.15.0+dfsg-2build21.15.0+dfsg-31.15.1+dfsg-11.15.1+dfsg-2 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-4638 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.2) in Pointcloudlibrary Pcl, published May 14, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.55%, the 46th percentile. Fixed in zsync 0.6.2-11.1.mga9.
References
github.com/PointCloudLibrary/pcl/pull/6245
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-4638