CVE-2025-3456 is a vulnerability identified in Arista Networks EOS (Extensible Operating System) versions 4.29.0 through 4.34.0F. The issue involves the inadvertent logging of the global common encryption key configuration in clear text within local or remote accounting logs. This vulnerability falls under CWE-532, which pertains to the insertion of sensitive information into log files. The core risk arises because if an attacker gains access to these logs, they can retrieve the global encryption key. With this key and protocol-specific encrypted secrets extracted from the device's running configuration, an attacker can potentially derive protocol-specific passwords used in symmetric authentication between devices that maintain neighbor protocol relationships. This could lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of network communications between devices. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.8, indicating a low severity level. The vector indicates that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and results in a confidentiality impact (C:L) but no integrity or availability impact. There are no known exploits in the wild currently, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability's scope is limited to the confidentiality of sensitive keys, and exploitation requires some level of local privileges, reducing the overall risk but still posing a concern for environments where log access is not tightly controlled.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-3456 primarily concerns the confidentiality of encryption keys used within Arista EOS devices. If an attacker with local access to the device or its logs can retrieve these keys, they may decrypt protocol-specific passwords, potentially allowing lateral movement or interception of network traffic between devices. This could undermine the security of network infrastructure, especially in environments relying on symmetric authentication protocols for device-to-device communication. While the vulnerability does not directly affect integrity or availability, the exposure of sensitive keys could facilitate further attacks, including unauthorized configuration changes or data interception. Organizations with stringent compliance requirements around data protection and network security (e.g., GDPR) may face regulatory scrutiny if such a breach leads to data exposure. The low CVSS score reflects limited exploitability and impact, but the risk is elevated in scenarios where log access controls are weak or where attackers have already gained some level of privileged access.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Restrict access to local and remote accounting logs to only trusted administrators and systems using strict access control lists and role-based access controls. 2) Monitor and audit log access regularly to detect any unauthorized attempts to view sensitive information. 3) Employ encryption for log transport and storage to protect log confidentiality, ensuring that logs containing sensitive data are not exposed in transit or at rest. 4) Limit the use of global common encryption keys where possible and rotate keys frequently to reduce the window of exposure. 5) Apply principle of least privilege to all users and processes that can access Arista EOS devices and their logs. 6) Stay updated with Arista Networks' security advisories and apply patches or configuration changes as soon as they become available. 7) Consider implementing network segmentation to isolate critical devices and reduce the risk of local access by unauthorized users. 8) Use secure logging mechanisms or configure EOS to avoid logging sensitive keys in plaintext if such options exist.