CVE-2025-1993 identifies a vulnerability in IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Container versions ranging from 8.1 through 12.10. The core issue stems from weak password requirements protecting the database where flow configurations are stored. Specifically, the cryptographic algorithms used to secure these flows are weaker than expected, allowing a local attacker to potentially decrypt sensitive data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-521, which relates to weak password requirements that undermine cryptographic protections. The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.1 (medium severity) reflects that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is primarily on confidentiality (C:H), with no impact on integrity or availability. Since the weakness is in the cryptographic protection of stored flows, an attacker with local access could extract sensitive flow data, potentially revealing business logic, integration details, or sensitive information embedded in the flows. This could facilitate further attacks or data exfiltration. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet, indicating that mitigation may rely on configuration changes or awaiting vendor updates. The vulnerability affects a broad range of versions, indicating a long-standing issue in the product line. Given the local access requirement and high attack complexity, exploitation is not trivial but remains a concern in environments where multiple users have local access or where containers are co-hosted with less trusted users.

For European organizations using IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Container, this vulnerability poses a risk to the confidentiality of integration flows and potentially sensitive data embedded within them. Organizations in sectors with stringent data protection requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government, could face compliance risks if sensitive data is exposed. The local access requirement limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk in multi-tenant or shared environments common in European cloud and data center deployments. Exposure of flow configurations could lead to intellectual property theft, leakage of business process details, or assist attackers in crafting more targeted attacks. While availability and integrity are not directly impacted, the confidentiality breach could have downstream effects on trust and regulatory compliance under GDPR. The medium severity rating suggests that while this is not an immediate critical threat, it should be addressed promptly to avoid escalation or combined attacks leveraging this weakness.

European organizations should implement strict access controls to limit local access to systems running IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Container instances. Employing container isolation best practices and minimizing the number of users with local access reduces exploitation risk. Until IBM releases patches or updates, organizations should review and strengthen password policies and cryptographic configurations where possible, ensuring that stronger algorithms and key lengths are enforced. Monitoring and auditing local access and file system permissions on the container host can detect unauthorized attempts to access flow databases. Additionally, organizations should consider encrypting the underlying storage volumes with strong encryption to add a layer of protection. Regularly updating to the latest product versions once patches become available is critical. Finally, conducting internal security assessments and penetration tests focusing on local privilege escalation and data access within container environments can help identify and remediate weaknesses related to this vulnerability.