CVE-2025-41240 is a critical vulnerability affecting VMware's Bitnami Helm charts for the Appsmith application, specifically version 21.2.0. The vulnerability arises because three Bitnami Helm charts mount Kubernetes Secrets at a predictable filesystem path (/opt/bitnami/*/secrets) that resides within the web server's document root. When the default configuration usePasswordFiles=true is used, these secrets are mounted as files inside the container's filesystem. Because the secrets are accessible under the web server document root, an unauthenticated remote attacker can retrieve sensitive credentials by sending HTTP/S requests to specific URLs corresponding to these mounted secret files. This leads to a complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as the attacker gains access to sensitive credentials without any authentication or user interaction. The CVSS v3.1 score is 10.0 (critical), reflecting the ease of exploitation (network accessible, no privileges or user interaction required) and the severe impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability presents a significant risk to any exposed deployments using the affected Helm charts with default settings. The root cause is the insecure mounting of Kubernetes Secrets within the web server document root, exposing them to unauthenticated HTTP access. This vulnerability highlights the importance of secure secret management and proper container filesystem isolation in Kubernetes deployments.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a severe risk, especially for those deploying Appsmith via Bitnami Helm charts in Kubernetes environments exposed to the internet. The exposure of Kubernetes Secrets can lead to credential theft, enabling attackers to escalate privileges, move laterally within networks, or exfiltrate sensitive data. This can result in data breaches, service disruptions, and compliance violations under regulations such as GDPR. Organizations relying on Appsmith for internal or customer-facing applications may face operational downtime and reputational damage. Given the critical severity and ease of exploitation, attackers could rapidly compromise affected systems, potentially impacting cloud-native applications and services widely used across Europe. The vulnerability also threatens supply chain security if compromised credentials are used to access other connected systems. The lack of required authentication and user interaction makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous for European enterprises with externally accessible Kubernetes deployments.

To mitigate CVE-2025-41240, European organizations should: 1) Immediately audit Kubernetes deployments using Bitnami Helm charts for Appsmith and verify if usePasswordFiles=true is set and secrets are mounted under the web server document root. 2) Upgrade to a patched version of the Bitnami Helm charts once available from VMware or Bitnami that removes secrets from the web server document root or disables mounting secrets as files by default. 3) As an interim measure, reconfigure Helm charts to disable usePasswordFiles or mount secrets outside the web server document root to prevent HTTP access. 4) Implement network-level protections such as restricting external access to Kubernetes pods running Appsmith via firewalls or ingress rules. 5) Monitor web server logs for suspicious HTTP requests targeting the /opt/bitnami/*/secrets path and set up alerts for unauthorized access attempts. 6) Rotate any exposed credentials immediately if compromise is suspected. 7) Review Kubernetes RBAC policies and secret management best practices to minimize secret exposure. 8) Conduct penetration testing and vulnerability scanning focused on secret exposure in containerized environments. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on configuration changes, network controls, and active monitoring tailored to this specific vulnerability.