CVE-2025-24493 is a medium severity vulnerability identified in OpenHarmony version 5.0.3 and earlier, specifically including version 5.0.1. The vulnerability arises from a race condition (CWE-362) due to improper synchronization when multiple concurrent executions access a shared resource. This flaw allows a local attacker with limited privileges (low privileges required) to exploit the timing window in concurrent operations to cause an information leak. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and does not impact system integrity or availability, but it compromises confidentiality by exposing sensitive information. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a moderate risk primarily because the attack vector is local, but the impact on confidentiality is high. The race condition indicates that the software does not properly serialize access to shared resources, leading to inconsistent or unintended data exposure. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet, meaning organizations using affected OpenHarmony versions remain exposed until a fix is released and applied.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential leakage of sensitive information from devices or systems running OpenHarmony 5.0.3 or earlier. OpenHarmony is an open-source operating system primarily targeting IoT devices, smart devices, and embedded systems. European enterprises deploying OpenHarmony-based devices in critical infrastructure, manufacturing, or smart city applications could face confidentiality breaches that may expose proprietary or personal data. Although the vulnerability requires local access, insider threats or attackers gaining limited user-level access could exploit this flaw to escalate information gathering capabilities. This could undermine data privacy compliance obligations under GDPR if personal data is leaked. The lack of impact on integrity and availability reduces the risk of operational disruption but does not eliminate the risk of reputational damage or regulatory penalties due to data exposure.

Organizations should prioritize upgrading OpenHarmony installations to versions beyond 5.0.3 once patches become available. Until then, they should implement strict access controls to limit local user access to trusted personnel only, minimizing the risk of exploitation. Employing runtime monitoring and anomaly detection on devices can help identify suspicious concurrent access patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should audit and harden device configurations to reduce unnecessary local access interfaces (e.g., disabling unused local shells or debug ports). For environments where OpenHarmony devices are deployed, network segmentation and endpoint protection can limit lateral movement if a local compromise occurs. Finally, maintaining an inventory of all OpenHarmony devices and tracking their firmware versions will facilitate timely patch management once fixes are released.