CVE-2025-4662 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Broadcom's Brocade SANnav software versions prior to 2.4.0a. The vulnerability arises from the improper handling of sensitive passphrases during the execution of OpenSSL commands. Specifically, SANnav logs plaintext passphrases in the host server's audit logs when these passphrases are provided either via command line arguments or through temporary files. These audit logs reside on the local virtual machine hosting the SANnav server and are outside the direct control or visibility of SANnav administrators or users. Instead, only the server administrators of the host system can access these logs. This exposure constitutes a CWE-497 weakness, which involves the exposure of sensitive system information to an unauthorized control sphere. Although the vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation or compromise of the SANnav application itself, it risks leaking critical cryptographic credentials to any party with administrative access to the underlying host server. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) indicates that exploitation requires local access with high privileges and some user interaction, but no authentication bypass or network attack vector is involved. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The root cause is the insecure logging practice of sensitive passphrases in plaintext, which could be mitigated by sanitizing logs or avoiding passing passphrases in command line arguments or temporary files. This vulnerability is significant in environments where multiple administrators share host server access or where host server logs are not adequately protected, potentially leading to unauthorized disclosure of cryptographic keys or passphrases used by SANnav for storage area network management.

For European organizations utilizing Brocade SANnav for managing their storage area networks, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the confidentiality of sensitive cryptographic passphrases. If an attacker or unauthorized insider gains administrative access to the SANnav host server, they could retrieve plaintext passphrases from audit logs, potentially enabling further compromise of encrypted storage or network components managed by SANnav. While the vulnerability does not directly allow remote exploitation or affect the integrity or availability of SANnav, the exposure of passphrases could facilitate lateral movement or escalation within the infrastructure. This is particularly impactful for sectors with stringent data protection requirements such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where storage security is paramount. Additionally, organizations with shared administrative environments or insufficient host server log protections face increased risk. However, since exploitation requires local high-privilege access and user interaction, the threat is more relevant to insider threats or attackers who have already breached perimeter defenses. The medium severity rating reflects this limited attack surface but underscores the importance of securing host server environments and audit logs to prevent sensitive information leakage.

To mitigate CVE-2025-4662, European organizations should: 1) Upgrade Brocade SANnav to version 2.4.0a or later, where this logging behavior has been addressed. 2) Restrict and monitor administrative access to the SANnav host server VM to minimize the risk of unauthorized local access. 3) Implement strict access controls and auditing on host server audit logs to detect and prevent unauthorized viewing or tampering. 4) Avoid passing sensitive passphrases via command line arguments or temporary files; instead, use secure methods such as environment variables or protected credential stores where possible. 5) Regularly review and sanitize audit logs to remove any sensitive information inadvertently logged. 6) Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) to monitor for suspicious access patterns to audit logs. 7) Conduct security awareness training for server administrators emphasizing the risks of sensitive data exposure through logs. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on securing the host environment and changing operational practices around credential handling and log management.