CVE-2025-26485 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Beta80's Life 1st product, version 1.5.2.14234. The flaw is categorized under CWE-200, which involves the exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized actors. Specifically, the vulnerability arises from the application's handling of authentication failures. When an attacker attempts to authenticate with either an incorrect password or a non-existent username, the system returns distinct error messages that differ based on the failure reason. This discrepancy allows an attacker to enumerate valid usernames registered in the Identity Manager component of Life 1st by analyzing the error responses. Such user enumeration can be a critical first step in targeted attacks, including brute force or social engineering campaigns. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.8, reflecting a medium severity level, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact is limited to confidentiality (C:L), with no impact on integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on March 19, 2025, and was reserved on February 11, 2025, with ENISA as the assigner. Overall, this vulnerability enables attackers to gather sensitive information about user existence, which can facilitate further attacks against the system or its users.

For European organizations using Beta80 Life 1st version 1.5.2.14234, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the confidentiality of user identity information. Attackers can leverage the error message differences to enumerate valid users, which can lead to targeted brute force attacks or phishing campaigns aimed at those users. This can compromise user credentials or lead to unauthorized access if combined with other vulnerabilities or weak password policies. While the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the exposure of user information can undermine trust and compliance with data protection regulations such as the GDPR. Organizations in sectors with high identity management sensitivity, such as finance, healthcare, or government, may face increased risk due to the potential for targeted attacks. Additionally, the changed scope indicates that the impact may extend beyond the authentication component, possibly affecting other integrated systems relying on the Identity Manager. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the ease of exploitation (no privileges or user interaction required) means attackers could quickly develop automated tools to exploit this flaw once discovered.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Standardize error messages for authentication failures to avoid revealing whether a username exists or not. This can be done by returning a generic error message such as 'Invalid username or password' regardless of the failure reason. 2) Implement rate limiting and account lockout policies to prevent automated enumeration attempts and brute force attacks. 3) Monitor authentication logs for unusual patterns indicative of enumeration or brute force activity and set up alerts for such anomalies. 4) Apply strict password policies and encourage multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of compromised credentials. 5) Engage with Beta80 for timely patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and plan for prompt deployment once available. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on authentication mechanisms to identify similar information disclosure issues. 7) Educate users about phishing risks and suspicious login attempts, especially if user enumeration is suspected. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on both technical controls and user awareness to reduce the attack surface and potential exploitation.