CVE-2025-20054 is a vulnerability identified in certain Intel(R) Processors involving an uncaught exception within the core management mechanism. This flaw allows an authenticated local user to potentially trigger a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability arises because the processor's core management system does not properly handle specific exceptions, which can be exploited to disrupt normal processor operations. The attack requires local access and authenticated privileges, meaning an attacker must already have some level of access to the system to exploit this issue. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 6.8, indicating a medium severity level. The vector metrics specify that the attack vector is local (AV:L), with low attack complexity (AC:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and privileges required are low (PR:L). The impact is primarily on availability (VA:H), with no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or vendor mitigations have been explicitly referenced in the provided information. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Intel processors, though specific affected models or microarchitectures are not detailed here. The core management mechanism is critical for processor stability and performance, so exploitation could cause system crashes or hangs, impacting service availability on affected systems.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to system availability, potentially causing downtime or degraded performance on affected Intel-based infrastructure. Organizations relying on Intel processors in servers, workstations, or critical embedded systems could experience service interruptions if an attacker with local access exploits this flaw. The requirement for authenticated local access limits the threat to insider threats or attackers who have already compromised user credentials or gained physical access. However, in environments with shared access or multi-tenant systems, such as data centers or cloud providers, the risk is more pronounced. Disruption of critical services could affect business continuity, especially in sectors like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government services prevalent in Europe. Additionally, the medium severity rating suggests that while the vulnerability is not trivial, it is not among the most critical, but still warrants attention to prevent potential denial of service scenarios.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Ensure strict access controls and monitoring to prevent unauthorized local access, including enforcing the principle of least privilege and robust authentication mechanisms. 2) Monitor for unusual system behavior or crashes that could indicate exploitation attempts. 3) Apply any available firmware or microcode updates from Intel as soon as they are released, even though no patch links are currently provided, staying alert to vendor advisories. 4) Implement endpoint security solutions that can detect and prevent exploitation attempts at the local level. 5) In multi-tenant or shared environments, isolate workloads and restrict user privileges to minimize the risk of lateral movement and local exploitation. 6) Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on local privilege escalation and denial of service scenarios. 7) Maintain updated incident response plans to quickly address potential denial of service incidents caused by this vulnerability.