# CVE-2025-0221: IOBit Protected Folder IOCTL pffilter.sys 0x22200c null pointer dereference

> A local attacker can cause a denial of service in IOBit Protected Folder via a null pointer dereference in the pffilter.sys driver.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 6 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x45x-pqwc-c7f3

## What is CVE-2025-0221?

CVE-2025-0221 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IOBit Protected Folder, published on 5 Jan 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability has been found in IOBit Protected Folder up to 1.3.0 and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function 0x22200c in the library pffilter.sys of the component IOCTL Handler. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. The attack needs to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-404 (Improper Resource Shutdown or Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-0221?

It affects 1 product.


Products: I0bit Protected Folder.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-0221?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-0221 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-0221 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-0221 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in IOBit Protected Folder

- [CVE-2025-0222](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0222/): IObit Protected Folder IOCTL IUProcessFilter.sys 0x8001E004 null pointer dereference (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2025-0223](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0223/): IObit Protected Folder IOCTL IURegistryFilter.sys 0x8001E010 null pointer dereference (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-0221 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-0221 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IOBit Protected Folder, published on 5 Jan 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-0221 exists.

Affected product: IOBit Protected Folder. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0221/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0221/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-0221
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-0221
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-0221

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0221/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.