CVE-2025-3050 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting IBM Db2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows, specifically versions 11.5.0 through 11.5.9 and 12.1.0 through 12.1.1. The vulnerability arises from improper allocation of CPU resources during the use of Q replication, a feature in Db2 that enables data replication between databases. An authenticated user with low privileges can exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service (DoS) by triggering excessive CPU consumption without any throttling or limits in place. This resource exhaustion can degrade the performance of the database server or potentially render it unresponsive, impacting availability. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-770, which relates to allocation of resources without limits or throttling, leading to resource exhaustion. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), low privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N), and high impact on availability (A:H). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability requires authentication but no user interaction, and the attack complexity is high, meaning exploitation may require specific conditions or knowledge. The flaw specifically targets the Q replication functionality, which is used in environments requiring high availability and data synchronization, making it a critical component in enterprise database operations.

For European organizations relying on IBM Db2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows, especially those utilizing Q replication for data synchronization and disaster recovery, this vulnerability poses a risk to service availability. A successful exploitation could lead to denial of service conditions, causing downtime or degraded performance of critical database services. This can disrupt business operations, impact customer-facing applications, and potentially violate service level agreements (SLAs). Industries such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and government sectors, which often depend on IBM Db2 for mission-critical data processing, could face operational interruptions. Additionally, the requirement for authenticated access limits the attack surface to internal or compromised users, but insider threats or lateral movement by attackers could leverage this vulnerability to amplify impact. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact reduces risks of data leakage or corruption, but availability degradation alone can have significant operational and reputational consequences.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict and monitor access to IBM Db2 instances, ensuring that only authorized and trusted users have authentication credentials, minimizing the risk of exploitation by insiders or compromised accounts. 2) Apply strict resource usage monitoring and alerting on CPU consumption related to Q replication processes to detect anomalous behavior early. 3) If possible, temporarily disable or limit Q replication functionality until a vendor patch or update is available, especially in environments where availability is critical. 4) Employ network segmentation and access controls to isolate database servers and reduce exposure to potentially malicious internal actors. 5) Keep IBM Db2 software updated and subscribe to IBM security advisories to promptly apply patches once released. 6) Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on replication features to identify potential exploitation attempts. 7) Implement robust logging and incident response plans tailored to database availability issues to quickly mitigate any denial of service events.