CVE-2025-48188 is a vulnerability identified in GNU PSPP, an open-source statistical analysis software often used as a free alternative to proprietary tools like SPSS. The issue lies within the libpspp-core.a library, specifically in the fill_buffer function located in data/encrypted-file.c. This function incorrectly calls the Gnulib rijndaelDecrypt function, which leads to a heap-based buffer over-read, classified under CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read). A buffer over-read occurs when a program reads data beyond the allocated memory buffer, potentially causing application crashes or exposing sensitive data from adjacent memory. However, in this case, the vulnerability is characterized as low severity with a CVSS 3.1 score of 2.9, indicating limited impact. The attack vector is local (AV:L), requiring high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact affects availability only (A:L) without compromising confidentiality or integrity. There are no known exploits in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. This suggests the vulnerability is not currently actively exploited and may require specific conditions or expertise to trigger. The flaw could cause PSPP to crash or behave unpredictably when processing encrypted files, potentially disrupting statistical analysis workflows. Since PSPP is used primarily in academic, research, and some governmental contexts, the vulnerability's impact is mostly limited to availability disruptions rather than data breaches or privilege escalations.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-48188 is expected to be minimal due to the low severity and local attack vector. Organizations using GNU PSPP for statistical analysis might experience application crashes or denial of service when handling certain encrypted data files, which could interrupt research or data processing tasks. However, the lack of confidentiality or integrity impact means sensitive data exposure or manipulation is unlikely. The requirement for local access and high attack complexity reduces the risk of remote exploitation or widespread attacks. Nonetheless, organizations relying heavily on PSPP for critical data analysis should be aware of potential availability issues, especially in academic institutions, research centers, and public sector agencies where PSPP usage is more common. The vulnerability does not pose a direct threat to network infrastructure or critical systems but could cause operational inconvenience and require troubleshooting or temporary workarounds until a patch is available.

To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-48188, European organizations should: 1) Restrict local access to systems running GNU PSPP to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of unauthorized local exploitation. 2) Monitor PSPP usage and logs for unusual crashes or errors related to encrypted file processing to detect potential exploitation attempts. 3) Avoid processing untrusted or malformed encrypted files with PSPP until a patch or update addressing the vulnerability is released. 4) Engage with the GNU PSPP community or maintainers to track the release of security patches and apply updates promptly once available. 5) Consider implementing application whitelisting and endpoint protection controls to prevent execution of unauthorized code or manipulation of PSPP binaries. 6) For critical environments, evaluate alternative statistical analysis tools temporarily if PSPP stability is compromised. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and cautious handling of encrypted data files specific to this vulnerability's characteristics.