CVE-2025-15281 is a vulnerability identified in the GNU C Library (glibc), specifically affecting versions from 2.0 through 2.42. The issue stems from improper handling in the wordexp function when invoked with the WRDE_REUSE and WRDE_APPEND flags. Under these conditions, the we_wordv member may contain uninitialized memory, which is then returned to the caller. This uninitialized memory usage can cause undefined behavior, and notably, when wordfree is called subsequently, it may lead to an abort of the process, effectively causing a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-908, which relates to the use of uninitialized resources. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5, indicating a high severity, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), and impact limited to availability (A:H) without affecting confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability affects a core system library widely used in Linux environments, meaning that any software or service relying on glibc's wordexp function with these flags could be impacted. The lack of authentication or user interaction requirements makes this vulnerability easier to exploit remotely, potentially affecting servers and services that process user input or scripts invoking wordexp. The vulnerability's root cause is a programming error in resource initialization, which can be addressed by proper memory initialization and handling in the affected function. Although no patches are linked yet, it is expected that glibc maintainers will release updates to fix this issue.

The primary impact of CVE-2025-15281 is denial of service due to process aborts triggered by the use of uninitialized memory in glibc's wordexp function. For European organizations, this can translate into unexpected crashes of critical applications or services that depend on glibc, particularly those that utilize wordexp with the affected flags. This could disrupt web servers, database systems, or other backend services running on Linux distributions shipping with vulnerable glibc versions. Since glibc is a fundamental component in most Linux-based systems, the scope of affected systems is broad, potentially impacting enterprise servers, cloud infrastructure, and embedded systems. The vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, so data breaches or unauthorized data modification are not direct concerns. However, availability disruptions can have cascading effects, especially in sectors like finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and government services, where uptime is critical. The ease of exploitation (no privileges or user interaction needed) increases the risk of automated attacks or exploitation by malicious actors scanning for vulnerable systems. European organizations with large-scale Linux deployments or those running legacy systems with outdated glibc versions are at higher risk. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate future exploitation risks.

1. Monitor official GNU C Library (glibc) repositories and security advisories for patches addressing CVE-2025-15281 and apply updates promptly once available. 2. In the interim, audit applications and scripts to identify usage of the wordexp function with WRDE_REUSE and WRDE_APPEND flags; avoid or refactor such calls where possible to prevent triggering the vulnerability. 3. Employ runtime monitoring and logging to detect abnormal process terminations or crashes related to wordfree calls, enabling early detection of exploitation attempts. 4. Harden Linux systems by restricting network exposure of services that might invoke vulnerable glibc functions, using firewalls and network segmentation. 5. Use containerization or sandboxing to isolate critical applications, limiting the impact of potential process aborts. 6. Conduct thorough testing of updated glibc versions in staging environments before deployment to ensure compatibility and stability. 7. Engage with Linux distribution vendors for backported patches if upgrading glibc to a newer major version is not immediately feasible. 8. Educate development and operations teams about the vulnerability to raise awareness and encourage secure coding practices avoiding uninitialized resource usage.