CVE-2025-36171 is a vulnerability identified in IBM Aspera Faspex versions 5.0.0 through 5.0.13.1, classified under CWE-770, which concerns the allocation of resources without proper limits or throttling. This flaw allows a privileged user to exploit improperly validated API inputs to cause excessive resource consumption, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability specifically impacts the availability of the affected system by exhausting resources, potentially causing the Faspex service to become unresponsive or crash. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires high privileges (PR:H) and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope remains unchanged (S:U), and the impact affects only availability (A:H) without compromising confidentiality or integrity. No public exploits have been reported, and no patches have been released at the time of publication. IBM Aspera Faspex is widely used in enterprise environments for secure, high-speed file transfers, often in industries such as media, finance, and government. The vulnerability could be leveraged by insiders or attackers with elevated privileges to disrupt critical file transfer operations, potentially impacting business continuity and service delivery.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential disruption of critical file transfer services provided by IBM Aspera Faspex. Industries relying on secure and efficient large file transfers, such as media production, financial services, and government agencies, could experience operational downtime or degraded service availability. This could lead to delays in business processes, loss of productivity, and potential contractual or regulatory compliance issues related to service availability. Since exploitation requires privileged access, the risk is heightened in environments where privilege management is lax or where insider threats exist. The unavailability of Faspex services could also indirectly affect other dependent systems or workflows, amplifying the operational impact. However, the lack of confidentiality or integrity impact limits the risk of data breaches or data manipulation from this vulnerability alone.

European organizations should implement strict privilege management policies to limit access to IBM Aspera Faspex administrative functions and APIs. Monitoring and alerting on unusual resource consumption patterns within Faspex can help detect early signs of exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to restrict API access to trusted administrators only. Until IBM releases an official patch, organizations can consider implementing resource usage limits at the operating system or container level to prevent excessive consumption by Faspex processes. Regularly reviewing and updating security configurations and conducting internal audits of privileged user activities will reduce the risk of insider exploitation. Additionally, organizations should maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential DoS incidents. Close coordination with IBM support and monitoring IBM security advisories for patch releases is essential for timely remediation.