[Bug]: redis server in crawl4ai docker image 0.7.8 has [CVE-2025-49844] Lua use-after-free may lead to remote code execution. CVSS Score: 10.0 (Critical)

[smoothdvd]

crawl4ai version

0.7.8

Expected Behavior

update the redis-server to the latest version of 7

Current Behavior

redis 7.0.15 has [CVE-2025-49844]

Is this reproducible?

Yes

Inputs Causing the Bug

check redis-server version

Steps to Reproduce

Code snippets

OS

Lines

Python version

3.12

Browser

No response

Browser version

No response

Error logs & Screenshots (if applicable)

No response

[SohamKukreti]

Root Cause Analysis: Vulnerable Redis in crawl4ai Docker Image (CVE‑2025‑49844)

Summary

The crawl4ai Docker image (0.7.8) ships with a Redis server installed from the base OS (redis-server from Debian bookworm). That package version is affected by CVE‑2025‑49844 (Lua use-after-free → potential remote code execution). Because Redis is bundled and running by default in the image, all deployments of this image inherit the vulnerability.

What Happened

• The Dockerfile installs Redis via apt-get install -y redis-server without version pinning or security validation.
• At the time 0.7.8 was built, Debian bookworm’s redis-server package was vulnerable to CVE‑2025‑49844.
• The image exposes Redis internally (and optionally externally if users map port 6379), making the vulnerable Redis instance reachable in many deployments.

Root Cause

• Unpinned OS package with no vulnerability tracking
• Redis is installed directly from Debian’s default repo without pinning a known-safe version.
• There is no automated check in the build pipeline to detect or block known-vulnerable OS packages (e.g., image vulnerability scan or CVE gate).

Bundling Redis in the application image

• Redis is treated as a built-in runtime dependency and runs inside the app container, rather than being an external, separately managed service.
• This design means a security flaw in Redis automatically becomes a security flaw in the crawl4ai image.

Contributing Factors

• Lack of explicit security requirements for Redis
• No documented policy stating “only use Redis ≥ X.Y.Z” or “do not ship a Redis server inside the app image.”
• No automated security scanning in CI/CD
• The Docker build process doesn’t appear to include an image scan step to flag critical CVEs in base packages.
  Implicit trust in base OS
• The build process assumes that “apt-get install redis-server” is safe enough, instead of treating third‑party services like Redis as high‑risk dependencies that require tighter control.

Corrective Actions

• Rebuild image with patched Redis
• Once Debian publishes a fixed package, rebuild the image so apt-get install redis-server picks up the patched version, or explicitly pin to a known-good Redis version.
• Document mitigation for users
• Recommend not exposing Redis port 6379 externally.
• Suggest using an external, managed, fully patched Redis instance where possible.