A critical code injection vulnerability in the Robot Operating System (ROS) rostopic tool allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code, posing a severe risk to system integrity.

The vulnerability originates in the hz verb of the rostopic command-line tool, which improperly handles user-provided input via the filter option. Because this input is passed directly to the Python eval function without sanitization, an attacker can perform code injection with local access.

Successful exploitation allows a local user to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the rostopic command. This could lead to full system compromise, unauthorized data access, or the disruption of robotic processes. With a CVSS score of 7.8, this vulnerability represents a high risk for environments relying on legacy ROS 1 distributions.

Immediate Action: Since all affected ROS 1 versions are end of life, users must migrate to a supported ROS 2 distribution to receive security updates.

Proactive Monitoring: Audit system logs for suspicious process execution patterns or unexpected use of the rostopic command, particularly involving the hz verb and filter arguments.

Compensating Controls: Restrict local access to the affected systems and ensure that only authorized users have the capability to execute ROS command-line tools.

Public Exploit Available: No (exploit_available: false)

Given that the affected ROS 1 distributions are no longer supported by the vendor, there will be no patches released for this specific software version. Organizations must prioritize the migration to ROS 2 as the only effective way to remediate this vulnerability and ensure ongoing security support.