CVE-2022-25885 is a high-severity Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability affecting the muhammara package prior to version 2.6.0, as well as all versions of the related hummus package. These packages are Node.js libraries used for PDF manipulation and generation. The vulnerability arises when the function PDFStreamForResponse() processes invalid or malformed input data. Specifically, improper input validation leads to resource exhaustion or application crashes, resulting in a denial of service condition. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), indicating that the software does not adequately validate input before processing. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.5, reflecting a network attack vector with low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and a high impact on availability. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, and no official patches or vendor advisories are currently linked. This vulnerability could be triggered remotely by an attacker sending crafted PDF data to an application using these libraries, causing the application to crash or become unresponsive, thereby disrupting service availability.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability depends largely on the extent to which muhammara or hummus libraries are used within their software stacks, particularly in web applications or services that handle PDF processing. Organizations providing document management, digital signing, or PDF generation services could experience service outages if exploited. This could affect business continuity, customer trust, and compliance with service-level agreements. Since the vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity, data breaches are unlikely; however, denial of service can cause operational disruptions. Critical sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and legal services in Europe that rely on automated PDF processing might face increased risk of service unavailability, potentially impacting regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.

European organizations should first inventory their software dependencies to identify usage of muhammara and hummus packages. Immediate mitigation includes upgrading muhammara to version 2.6.0 or later, where the vulnerability is addressed. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should implement input validation and sanitization at the application level to reject malformed PDF data before it reaches the vulnerable function. Additionally, deploying runtime protections such as resource limits, timeouts, and process isolation can reduce the impact of potential DoS attempts. Monitoring application logs for crashes or unusual PDF processing errors can help detect exploitation attempts. Network-level protections, such as web application firewalls (WAFs), can be tuned to block suspicious PDF payloads. Finally, organizations should track updates from package maintainers and security advisories to apply patches promptly once available.