CVE-2025-36228 identifies a security weakness in IBM Aspera Faspex 5, a high-speed file transfer solution widely used in enterprise environments. The vulnerability arises from inconsistent enforcement of execution-assigned permissions between the user interface and the backend API. Specifically, certain features that appear disabled or inaccessible in the user interface can still be accessed via the backend API by users who possess high-level privileges. This discrepancy is classified under CWE-279, which pertains to incorrect permission assignments that can lead to unauthorized feature access. The affected versions range from 5.0.0 up to 5.0.14.1. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.8, reflecting a low severity primarily because exploitation requires network access, low attack complexity, but high privileges, and no user interaction. The impact is limited to partial confidentiality and integrity loss, with no availability impact. No public exploits or patches are currently available, and IBM has published the vulnerability details as of December 26, 2025. The vulnerability could allow authorized users to misuse features that should be disabled, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or modification within the scope of their elevated permissions.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-36228 lies in the potential misuse of IBM Aspera Faspex 5 features by users who already have elevated privileges. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data or modification of transfer configurations, undermining data confidentiality and integrity. Since Aspera Faspex is often used for large-scale, high-speed file transfers in industries such as media, finance, and government, misuse could disrupt secure data workflows or expose sensitive information. However, the requirement for high privileges limits the threat to insider misuse or compromised privileged accounts rather than external attackers. The absence of availability impact reduces the risk of service disruption. European organizations relying on Aspera Faspex for critical data transfers should be aware that this vulnerability could be exploited internally or by attackers who have escalated privileges, potentially leading to compliance issues under GDPR if sensitive data is exposed or mishandled.

1. Conduct a thorough audit of user permissions within IBM Aspera Faspex 5, ensuring that only necessary users have high-level privileges. 2. Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) and regularly review roles to minimize privilege creep. 3. Monitor backend API access logs for any unusual or unauthorized feature usage that contradicts the user interface permissions. 4. Until IBM releases an official patch, consider restricting access to the Faspex backend API to trusted network segments or VPNs to reduce exposure. 5. Educate privileged users about the risks of misuse and enforce strong authentication mechanisms, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), to reduce the risk of account compromise. 6. Prepare to deploy patches promptly once IBM provides them and test updates in a controlled environment before production rollout. 7. Integrate Faspex monitoring with SIEM solutions to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts.