CVE-2025-46327 is a vulnerability identified in the gosnowflake driver, a Golang client used to interact with Snowflake databases. The affected versions range from 1.7.0 up to, but not including, 1.13.3. The vulnerability is a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition classified under CWE-367. It specifically affects the Easy Logging feature on Linux and macOS platforms. The driver reads its logging configuration from a user-supplied file and performs a security check to ensure that the file is writable only by its owner. However, this check is flawed because it does not verify that the file owner matches the user running the driver, and the check is vulnerable to a race condition between the time the file is checked and the time it is used. This means a local attacker with write access to the configuration file or the directory containing it can exploit this window to replace or modify the configuration file. By doing so, the attacker can manipulate the logging level and redirect log output to arbitrary locations, potentially gaining control over sensitive logging data or influencing application behavior through logging. The vulnerability requires local access with limited privileges (PR:L) but does not require user interaction (UI:N). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.3, indicating a low severity primarily due to the limited impact on confidentiality and no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild, and the issue has been patched in version 1.13.3 of gosnowflake.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is generally low but context-dependent. Since the flaw requires local access with write permissions to the logging configuration file or its directory, it primarily poses a risk in environments where multiple users have access to the same host or where attackers can gain limited local access through other means (e.g., compromised accounts, insider threats). Exploiting this vulnerability could allow an attacker to alter logging behavior, potentially hiding malicious activities or redirecting logs to unauthorized locations, which may hinder incident detection and forensic analysis. In regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure—where Snowflake is often used for data warehousing and analytics—this could indirectly affect compliance and audit capabilities. However, the vulnerability does not allow direct data exfiltration or system compromise, limiting its impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Organizations relying heavily on Snowflake with gosnowflake drivers on Linux or macOS systems should be aware of this risk, especially if local user access controls are weak or if logging integrity is critical for security monitoring.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Upgrade gosnowflake to version 1.13.3 or later, where the TOCTOU race condition is patched. 2) Restrict local user permissions rigorously to prevent unauthorized users from writing to the logging configuration file or its containing directory. This includes enforcing strict file system ACLs and using mandatory access controls (e.g., SELinux, AppArmor) to limit write access. 3) Monitor and audit changes to logging configuration files and directories to detect unauthorized modifications promptly. 4) Consider isolating Snowflake client environments or running gosnowflake in containerized or sandboxed environments to reduce the risk of local privilege abuse. 5) Implement integrity verification mechanisms for configuration files, such as cryptographic hashes or signed configurations, to detect tampering. 6) Educate system administrators and developers about the risks of TOCTOU vulnerabilities and the importance of secure file handling practices. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling local access, monitoring configuration integrity, and enforcing environment isolation.