CVE-2025-48907 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Huawei's HarmonyOS version 5.0.0, specifically within the Inter-Process Communication (IPC) module. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-248, which corresponds to an uncaught exception scenario. Technically, this vulnerability arises due to improper handling of deserialization processes in the IPC module, where unexpected or malformed serialized data can trigger an unhandled exception. This flaw can be exploited by an attacker with local access to the device (as indicated by the CVSS vector AV:L - Attack Vector: Local) without requiring any privileges (PR:N) or user interaction (UI:N). The consequence of a successful exploit is a denial of service condition, impacting system availability (A:H), as the IPC module may crash or become unstable due to the uncaught exception. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity, and the scope remains unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is limited to the vulnerable component without affecting other system components. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on June 6, 2025, shortly after being reserved on May 28, 2025, indicating recent discovery and disclosure. Given that HarmonyOS is Huawei's proprietary operating system primarily used in IoT devices, smartphones, and other smart devices, this vulnerability could affect the stability of such devices if exploited locally.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-48907 depends largely on the adoption and deployment of Huawei HarmonyOS devices within their infrastructure. Organizations using HarmonyOS-powered devices, especially in critical environments such as industrial IoT, telecommunications, or smart office ecosystems, may face availability disruptions if an attacker gains local access to these devices and triggers the vulnerability. This could lead to denial of service conditions, potentially interrupting business operations or degrading service quality. While the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, availability impacts can still cause operational downtime, loss of productivity, and potential cascading effects in interconnected systems. Given the local attack vector, the threat is more relevant in scenarios where physical or local network access is possible, such as within corporate premises or through insider threats. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future exploitation once the vulnerability becomes widely known.

To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2025-48907, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Inventory and identify all Huawei HarmonyOS 5.0.0 devices within their environment to assess exposure. 2) Restrict local access to these devices by enforcing strict physical security controls and limiting network access to trusted users and devices only. 3) Monitor device logs and IPC module behavior for signs of crashes or abnormal exceptions that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4) Engage with Huawei or authorized vendors to obtain and apply patches or firmware updates addressing this vulnerability as soon as they become available. 5) Implement network segmentation to isolate HarmonyOS devices from critical infrastructure to contain potential denial of service impacts. 6) Educate staff about the risks of local attacks and enforce policies to prevent unauthorized device access. 7) Consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting anomalous IPC activity or crashes on HarmonyOS devices. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and vendor coordination specific to the affected product and vulnerability characteristics.