CVE-2025-2713 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability identified in Google gVisor's runsc component. gVisor is a container runtime sandbox developed by Google to provide an additional security layer by intercepting and handling system calls made by containerized applications. The vulnerability arises from incorrect privilege assignment, specifically due to the process initially running with root-like permissions until the first fork operation occurs. During this window, unprivileged users can exploit the improper handling of file access permissions to gain unauthorized access to restricted files. This flaw is categorized under CWE-266, which relates to incorrect privilege assignment, indicating that the system grants higher privileges than intended. The CVSS 4.0 base score of 6.8 (medium severity) reflects that the attack vector is local (AV:L), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), privileges at a low level (PR:L), and requires no user interaction (UI:N). The vulnerability impacts confidentiality significantly (VC:H), while integrity and availability impacts are none. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability affects the runsc component of gVisor, which is used primarily in containerized environments to enhance security by sandboxing container processes. The flaw could allow an attacker with local access to escalate privileges and potentially access sensitive files that should be restricted, undermining the security guarantees of container isolation.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk in environments where gVisor is deployed to secure containerized workloads. Organizations relying on containerization for cloud-native applications, especially those in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, could face confidentiality breaches if attackers exploit this flaw to access sensitive data. The local nature of the attack means that threat actors would require some level of access to the host or container environment, which could be achieved through other vulnerabilities or insider threats. Once exploited, the attacker could bypass container isolation, potentially leading to lateral movement within the network or exposure of confidential information. This undermines trust in container security models and could lead to compliance violations under GDPR if personal data is exposed. Additionally, the medium severity rating suggests that while the vulnerability is not trivial to exploit remotely, the impact on confidentiality is high, making it a concern for organizations prioritizing data protection and secure container operations.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately audit their container environments to identify deployments using Google gVisor and specifically the runsc component. 2) Apply any available patches or updates from Google as soon as they are released; if no patches are available, consider temporarily disabling or limiting the use of gVisor in sensitive environments. 3) Implement strict access controls and monitoring on hosts running gVisor to prevent unprivileged users from gaining local access that could lead to exploitation. 4) Employ container runtime security tools that can detect anomalous privilege escalations or unauthorized file access attempts within container sandboxes. 5) Enforce the principle of least privilege for all users and processes interacting with container environments to reduce the attack surface. 6) Regularly review and harden container configurations, including file system permissions and process capabilities, to minimize windows of elevated privileges during container lifecycle events such as forks. 7) Incorporate this vulnerability into incident response and threat hunting activities to detect potential exploitation attempts early.