CVE-2025-14762 is a cryptographic vulnerability classified under CWE-327, affecting the AWS SDK for Ruby. The core issue is the absence of cryptographic key commitment when encrypted data keys (EDKs) are stored in an "instruction file" instead of the default S3 metadata record. Key commitment is a cryptographic technique that binds the encrypted key to the ciphertext, ensuring that any tampering with the key or ciphertext is detectable. Without this binding, an attacker with write access to the S3 bucket can replace the EDK with a malicious one that decrypts to different plaintext than originally intended. This undermines data integrity, allowing undetected data manipulation. The vulnerability requires an attacker to have write permissions on the S3 bucket, which is a moderate privilege level, and can be exploited remotely without user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting the moderate complexity and impact. AWS has released a fix in SDK version 1.208.0, which introduces proper cryptographic key commitment to prevent this attack vector. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk to applications relying on the AWS SDK for Ruby for encryption and decryption operations involving S3-stored data.

For European organizations, this vulnerability primarily threatens data integrity in cloud environments using AWS SDK for Ruby with S3 buckets configured to store encrypted data keys in instruction files. An attacker with write access to the S3 bucket could manipulate encrypted data keys to cause decryption to yield altered plaintext, potentially leading to corrupted data, unauthorized data modification, or application logic errors. This could affect industries with stringent data integrity requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity breach could result in compliance violations under GDPR and other data protection regulations, leading to legal and reputational consequences. Organizations relying on automated processes for data encryption and decryption are particularly vulnerable, as the manipulation may go unnoticed until data corruption or operational failures occur. The medium severity rating suggests that while exploitation is not trivial, the potential damage to data trustworthiness is significant, warranting immediate attention.

European organizations should immediately upgrade the AWS SDK for Ruby to version 1.208.0 or later to incorporate the cryptographic key commitment fix. Additionally, organizations should audit S3 bucket permissions to ensure that write access is strictly limited to trusted entities, minimizing the risk of unauthorized key manipulation. Implement monitoring and alerting on S3 bucket write operations, especially those involving instruction files or encryption metadata, to detect suspicious activity promptly. Review and enforce strict IAM policies following the principle of least privilege to reduce the attack surface. Where feasible, consider using alternative encryption key storage methods that do not rely on instruction files or enhance encryption workflows with additional integrity checks. Conduct regular integrity verification of encrypted data and keys to detect tampering early. Finally, incorporate this vulnerability into incident response plans and ensure that development and security teams are aware of the risks associated with cryptographic key management in cloud SDKs.