CVE-2025-29948 is a vulnerability identified in the AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) firmware of AMD EPYC™ 9005 Series processors. The issue stems from improper handling of overlapping protected memory ranges, classified under CWE-1260, which relates to incorrect management of memory range overlaps leading to security flaws. SEV technology is designed to protect virtual machines by encrypting their memory and enforcing strict access controls via Restricted Memory Protection (RMP). However, this vulnerability allows a malicious hypervisor—an entity with high-level control over the virtualized environment—to bypass RMP protections. By exploiting this flaw, the attacker can undermine the integrity of SEV-SNP guest memory, potentially modifying or corrupting the encrypted memory contents of virtual machines without detection. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and cannot be exploited remotely, as it demands local hypervisor-level privileges. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N) reflects that the attack vector is local, with low complexity, no authentication needed beyond high privileges, and results in a high scope impact on integrity. No patches or known exploits are currently available, emphasizing the need for vigilance and proactive mitigation. This vulnerability is significant in cloud and enterprise environments where AMD EPYC 9005 processors are deployed to host sensitive virtualized workloads, as it threatens the foundational trust model of SEV-based memory encryption.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-29948 is primarily on the confidentiality and integrity of virtualized workloads protected by AMD SEV-SNP technology. Organizations relying on AMD EPYC 9005 processors in data centers, cloud service providers, and enterprises running sensitive virtual machines may face risks of unauthorized memory tampering by compromised or malicious hypervisors. This could lead to data corruption, leakage of sensitive information, or undermining of security guarantees provided by SEV. The vulnerability does not affect availability directly but could facilitate further attacks that degrade service reliability. Given the widespread use of AMD EPYC processors in European cloud infrastructure, especially in countries with advanced data center ecosystems, the threat could impact critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government services. The requirement for hypervisor-level access limits the attack surface to insiders or attackers who have already breached host controls, but the potential damage to guest VM integrity is significant. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but underscores the importance of patching and monitoring to prevent future exploitation.

To mitigate CVE-2025-29948, European organizations should: 1) Monitor AMD and OEM vendors for official firmware updates addressing this vulnerability and apply patches promptly once available. 2) Enforce strict access controls and auditing on hypervisor management interfaces to prevent unauthorized elevation to hypervisor-level privileges. 3) Implement robust host security measures, including multi-factor authentication and least privilege principles for administrators managing virtualized environments. 4) Employ runtime integrity monitoring and anomaly detection tools to identify suspicious hypervisor behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Segregate critical workloads and consider additional encryption or isolation layers beyond SEV where feasible. 6) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on virtualization infrastructure to detect potential privilege escalations. 7) Maintain comprehensive logging and incident response plans tailored to virtualization security incidents. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on hypervisor security hardening and proactive detection, which are crucial given the local and privileged nature of the threat.